


Foreign lands

by Rogercat



Series: Elia Martell in Rohan [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Cousins, Crossover, Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Elia Martell Lives, Elia Martell-centric, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Character of Color, Female Friendship, Foreign Language, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Growing Up, Horses, Male-Female Friendship, Middle Earth, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Parent-Child Relationship, Pre-Canon, Remarriage, Rohan, Royalty, Slow Romance, Survival, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Uncle-Niece Relationship, Widowed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2019-12-26 21:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 40,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18290774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: How it all starts, and the first four years in a different world





	1. A true knight

Elia could feel the tension in the air, even here in the very godswood of the Red Keep. But she needed to come out from Maegor's Holdfast, her children would not feel well by being locked up indoors all the time. Reminding herself to pay the kind servant who had been kind enough to let them out at a time when no one would spot them that easily despite the colour on their clothing, Elia took the chance to enjoying watching her two children play together. It had also helped that there was no Kingsguard to watch the bridge leading into Maegor's Holdfast, only a random guard who had proven himself rather worrying easily distracted by a flirtatious maid servant as the Princess and her children had sneaked out.   

 

“Aegon is better at walking now, mama!” Rhaenys commented, watching her young brother stumble around on the ground, his lilac eyes big in wonder over the grass felt over his tiny feet. A healthy toddler now when he was almost fifteen months old, he was still needing a little support when walking longer distances but fully determined to follow after his sister.  

 

“Yes, he is. So big from how little he was at birth.” 

 

Elia shuddered at the memory threatening to enter the surface of her mind. That had been her closest meeting with the Stranger, unless one did count all the times she had struggled to survive as a baby born a month too early. She had known that she would face a true battle for life and death in the birthing bed, but needing a six months long bed rest to recover after her daughter's and almost dead after the birth of her son only little over a year later? If that was not a sign of that she had to avoid a third pregnancy, Elia did not know what to call it otherwise. 

 

“Ma-ma!” Aegon called, holding up his arms in a request to be held. Rhaenys was satisfied enough by playing with little Balerion, the black kitten she had gotten back on Dragonstone who rarely left her side. 

 

Suddenly, there was a massive amount of screams and the sounds of fighting coming from the city. 

 

“ _....Lord Tywin?! _ ” Elia realized in horror, having seen the Lannister lion on flags on the army outside the city that very morning. Had he chosen to betray the royal family because there was more to win with the Rebellion, having enough of the Targaryens? Betraying the King he once had been good friends with and served as Hand for twenty years?  

 

“Princess! Please return to the holdfast now, it is not safe there if the soldiers manages to enter the Red Keep!” a terrified servant called. 

 

Too late, just as Elia took a better hold on Aegon in one arm and grabbing Rhaenys' hand with her own free one, they saw a giant of a man, in steel armour, coming into the godswood and the servant was slain with a stab in the back. Despite that her orange dress would only stand out among the trees, Elia still fled in between the trees with her children. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

At the same time, a very different battle was happening just outside a ancient forest.

 

“Kill every last one of those wicked beings!” 

 

The Éored led by twenty-seven year old Théodred, the Prince of Rohan and heir to their current King, was in the middle of cleaning out a large group of orcs that had been raiding a smaller village at the northern border of Rohan. 

 

“Some of them are running into Fangorn, my prince!” 

 

Then the prince suddenly stopped his horse for a moment, looking around as if trying to listen to something he just heard. 

 

“My lord?” 

 

There it was again, a scream that sounded like a woman, calling desperately for help in a language foreign for his ears. But for Théodred, who had seen his own people slain by the orcs, that cry for help was enough.  

 

“Aldor! Cover my left!” Théodred ordered to his second-in-command, a older man well trained in battle and trustworthy in times of need. Riding in between the trees of Fangorn, Théodred cut down any orc he saw while following the screams.   

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

When had the forest changed into such old trees? And the air getting more difficult to breathe? Elia did not care, she was only grateful for that she had chosen a simple dress today, refusing to be dressed up in all her jewelry and other fine things people expected her to wear as the wife to the Crown prince. The dress was uncomplicated to move in, a very useful one if you needed to run, and Rhaenys' light blue dress had been made with the same reason in mind, especially as she was in that age when children was curious and sometimes could try to run off from those who watched over them. 

 

“That monster is still following us, mama!” 

 

Yes, that giant of a man was a horrible monster indeed, chasing them even as the branches on the trees slowed him down because of his size. A furious hiss was heard and something tiny, black dashed past them.  

 

“Balerion!?”

 

That kitten really loved his little mistress, indeed, given how he tried to follow after the escaping family. A roar of anger was heard behind them as their attacker was coming closer. 

 

Then, a grey horse showed up in front of them. Its rider was dressed in mail hauberk and a cuirass of boiled leather, but Elia could not recognize the style of the helmet or the round shield which hung from one side on the horse.

 

“Help us!” Rhaenys screamed, then she cried out in fear as the large man grabbed hold of Elia's dress from behind. The fabric tore apart all the way along her back as Elia lost her balance, trying to not drop Aegon on the ground as she fell.  

 

Théodred did not hesitate for a moment, but drove his stallion Silvermoon closer in full gallop and willingly sacrificed his own cloak to throw it over the helmet on the large man, blocking the sight which had been visible though the visir. Then he used his throwing axe against the covered head to make the large man lose his own balance, away from the small family. 

 

“Get up!” 

 

Even if it was in a unknown language, the meaning was clear with the offered hand. As Rhaenys jumped up to reach the hand so she could be placed in front of the unknown rider, Elia managed to get up to her own feet. Even after two births and with a terrified, wailing toddler in one arm pressed against her chest to not drop her son, she was still enough flexible to slide up behind the rider as he pulled her up on his horse. 

 

Based on the sheer size of the man and the plate armour, Théodred knew that it would be suicide to try and battle the giant. For whatever reason, the mother and her two children was targeted by him. 

 

“Hold on! I will try and outride him!” 

 

A loud meow was heard to his right, and a small black kitten revealed itself to be holding fast for its very life in his saddle bag with its claws. 

  
  


As Gregor Clegane removed the green cloak from his helmet so he could see, the mysterious rider had already vanished between the trees with the crown princess and her two children. No matter where he looked for a glimpse of the orange dress, there was no trace. 

 

From that day on, Elia Martell and her two children was gone from the Red Keep with no clue to their fate, but many would whisper of that Tywin Lannister would have gotten rid of them, to ensure that his own daughter would be the new queen, married to Robert Baratheon when he claimed the Kingship, taking the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms as his own.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Somehow, Théodred could feel just for a moment that something changed in the atmosphere just as he rode out from Fangorn. Whatever it was, he did not know, but he knew that he had done the right thing. 

 

“I hope that was not your hus...my lady?!” 

 

Elia felt herself become weak all suddenly, black spots dancing in front of her eyes. As she slipped off the horse, she just barely managed to adjust her body so Aegon would not land with his fragile head first in the ground. 

 

“My lady!”

 

“Mama!” 

 

Dismounting quickly, Théodred knelt on the ground to see if the mother was injured. Even if she had been lucky to avoid hitting her head, she was pale under the dark skin and her breathing was uneven. Back up on Silvermoon, the small girl started to cry and babble things in that unknown language in a upset voice, though Théodred would not be surprised if she was accusing him of being mean to her mother, and the smaller child wailed from the mother's arms as well.  

 

“My prince!”

 

Aldor and the other soldiers under his command arrived on their horses. 

 

“My prince, what…?” 

 

“Someone was trying to kill this lady and her children, I managed to save them. The mother needs the care of the healers in Edoras, I do not think she is in the best of health,” Théodred explained as he carefully lifted up the unconscious mother, borrowing a cloak to cover her since the dress had been ruined in the back earlier. 

 

Gently, Aegon was handed to one of the riders who had some own children of the same age, Rhaenys was given to another father among them, and Aldor ensured that the black kitten was placed in his own saddle back with its head poking out for breathing, if the kitten was a beloved pet to the children then its presence could be a small comfort around strangers.  

  
  


The year was 3005 of the Third Age of Middle-Earth, and some major changes was bound to happen in Rohan for the coming years. 


	2. A unexpected guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Théodred brings Elia and her children to Edoras

Now, arriving back to Edoras with injured people was nothing strange, but Théodred was in a hurry to get back home. The strange woman was not very strong in her body, that much was clear because she got tired very quickly over each day as they rode closer to Edoras, and being not much of a healer himself outside common first-aid to try and prevent a person from bleeding to death and stabilize broken limbs, the Prince of Rohan hoped that some female healers might be better for her. Perhaps some midwives might be needed as well, she sometimes pressed her hands against her womb as in pain.               

 

“I hope that she is not suffering a possible miscarriage…!”   

 

For all of that his own mother Elfhild had died in childbirth when he was born, Théodred had gotten some useful information about women and how to treat females with respect from his late aunt Théodwyn before she had died from a illness brought from the grief of losing her husband three years ago, it had helped that she had been only fifteen years older than her nephew and her own two children had been adopted by his father like his own.

  


Elia was exhausted from the long rides over the last days, but the strange men had at least been treating her and her children well. Sure, they spoke a language she had never heard before, and she had been enough much of the endless sea of grass to know that this was no place in Westeros where she had been visiting the few times she had left Dorne, Dragonstone or King's Landing on a journey.

 

At least there was some comfort in that many of the riders seemed familiar with children, possibly being fathers or older brothers, for Rhaenys and Aegon was treated well despite the different language spoken here. As for herself, there had been no signs of her being recognized as the wife of the now dead Crown prince of Westeros, or her daughter and son as his children, so hopefully they were safe, for now. If the Rebels got hold of them, Elia did not doubt for a moment that her children risked to be killed for their Targaryen blood. Her own ties to the Targaryen family was by marriage and as a very distant descendant of the marriage between Maron Martell and Daenerys Targaryen, the only true-born daughter between Aegon IV and his sister-wife Naerys Targaryen, which had happened 93 years before her own marriage to Rhaegar, the second time a Targaryen heir had married a daughter of House Martell.      

 

“Please let my children be safe…” she thought, feeling her now very familiar tiredness take hold of her body again. Why she was feeling like this, Elisa could not even try to guess, but she knew that the whole time spent in King's Landing had taken its toll on her, the fear of what Aerys could get for mad ideas and possibly order her to be killed.    

  


A few days ago, they had stopped at a smaller village, and Elia had been given a light grey, long-sleeved dress of wool to better cover herself from the weather. It was pleasantly warm against her skin, and the children had been allowed to borrow some clothing as well. Hopefully, she would be able to repay the kindness later at some point, for there had been some kindness from the women after that the Lord, or at least she believed her rescuer to be a Lord, had spoken to them in their own tongue.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Finally they could see Edoras in the distance, and Théodred was not the only one among his riders wanting to get home to their families and homes. The sooner the foreign lady could get treatment from the healers, the better. And her little daughter and son could be cared for by the maids, if it now was that the mother was falling ill.

 

“Cousin! Shall I tell uncle that you are back?” his fourteen-year-old cousin Éomer called at spotting the prince, waving with one arm to be seen up at the stone stairs leading up to Meduseld.

 

“Please do that, where is your sister? I need her help for a little errand…”

 

Almost like she had heard him, nine-year-old Éowyn arrived out from the stables, most likely having given her own pony some carrots or apples as a secret treat behind the back of the stable grooms.

 

“Éowyn, could you get the female healers to one of the guest chambers? This lady is in need of their help and you can run faster than me because I have to carry her.”

 

If she was surprised to see the dark-skinned, raven-haired woman in front of the saddle where her older cousin was seated, Éowyn could tell that this was serious. Théodred had _never_ returned home with people who seemed to hail from the distant south. Was the woman from Near Harad, based on the colour of her skin tone, since people from Far Harad was said to have black skin?

 

“Surely they could not have been foolish enough to send a mother and her children to act as a spy in Rohan?” Éowyn wondered for herself as she hurried away to find the female healers and some of the midwives as her cousin had requested by her.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

“My lord Father and King, I have returned.”

 

Théoden, the seventeenth and current King of Rohan, got a much welcomed break in his paperwork when his son arrived into the chamber where the King would be found for that kind of royal business. Just because only the upper elit of Rohan was taught how to read and write, it did not mean that the King and his direct relatives could escape a such education. With Théodred as his only child, and Éomer and Éowyn as next-in-line, this had made them know from a early age that they had to take politics seriously.

 

“And I hear that you have brought a unusual guest with you. Please tell me why.”

 

Knowing that the truth was better than a lie, Théodred told his father of the battle which had happened just outside Fangorn, and how he had found Elia and her children being chased by a unusual tall man who seemed very set on possibly killing them.

 

“I know that it might not have been the best action, but with orcs attacking our borders, I can not stand the sight of innocent lives being taken, especially mothers with young children,” Théodred confessed, half-expecting his father to say something akin to that he should have let them die.

 

“Sometimes a good deed pays off, dear son. As you said yourself, innocent lives are often the first victims of war, or what could lead to conflicts which grows into war if it is not stopped early. Perhaps she is the wife of a traveling merchant from Far Harad and they were mistaken as spies by soldiers from Gondor. Denethor have grown suspicious against people from the southern lands laterly.”

 

Théodred visibly relaxed a little.

 

“Thank you for those kind words, Father. I was worried that I had done a mistake...oh?”

 

Someone was knocking on the door, before entering. It was Mereliss, Théodred's old wet nurse and one of the most high-ranked female servants in the royal court. Widowed in young age, she had chosen the path of a midwife to support herself and her children, making her a well-known face for almost every household in Edoras, for she insisted on helping women in the birthing bed no matter which social class they belonged to.  

 

“Well, I have to say that you arrived home with a big surprise for us all, my sweet prince. But you did right in bringing the lady here, for she was in need of some good care and much needed rest, for all of that I trust you and your men to have done your best to be kind to her during the travel home?”

 

“...Yes,” Théodred responded, before asking:

 

“I hope that she is not ill in some manner? She was very tired during the journey from Fangorn and sometimes acted as if she had pain in her abdomen, which worried me.”

 

“That kind of tiredness one must expect from a lady with delicate health. Not sickly from what I could find out, but most likely a result of a too early birth and the struggle to survive afterwards. As for that little detail about her abdomen, there was no signs of her moonblood or miscarriage, so I would rather say that she might be sensitive to certain types of food. It is not unheard of among those who are of less than robust health, that they need to be a little more careful with what they eat.”

 

Mereliss was in her mid-fifties, she knew what she was talking about if she could spot something related to childbirth or problems related to female health. And being the same generation as the King, those experiences made her valuable for many reasons.

 

“Thank you for checking her over, Mereliss. And the children are fine as well?”

 

“Apart from a few minor rashes resulting from that the borrowed clothes being of a fabrice which was a little rough against the skin, and the skin of such young ones can be sensitive.”

 

Since it was confirmed that Elia would not be strong enough to travel on her own, or that they had no idea where her husband could be, Théoden decided that she and the children would be treated as guests, under his son's protection since Théodred had been the one to save them.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

When Elia woke up properly, she found herself looking into an unfamiliar ceiling of wood, and when she moved her hands she felt that there was several pelts laying over the quilt to keep her warm. The chamber was pretty dark because there was no windows, but it was large enough to still feel airy somehow and the walls was decorated with tapestries to make the chamber feel warmer, a theme especially focusing on horses and their riders.

 

“Mama! You are awake!”

 

It was Rhaenys, who had been sitting on the floor to play with Aegon, both being seated on some other pelts to not be directly on the floor and based on what Elia could make out from the angle she saw them in, her children had been given some soft, knitted toys to entertain themselves with. And a small weight on her legs told her where Balerion currently was doing as well; sleeping peaceful with her as a pillow.

 

“I must have slept longer than I intended...Rhaenys dear, do you know if it is afternoon or already evening?” Elia wondered, and her daughter's face showed deep thought.

 

“I think...it is afternoon, we was given some porridge and bread to eat earlier, and milk to drink with the food, both me and Aegon! They did not wake you up, mama, for I think they said something about you needing to sleep...or I think they said so.”

 

Hard to blame Rhaenys for not being sure of what the unfamiliar adults had spoken, but it pleased Elia to hear that her children was treated well while she could not watch. Perhaps they were in a place where they could be safe, as long as she did not mention the surnames of their families.

 

“Rhae! Play?” Aegon asked from where he was still sitting on the pelt, holding up one toy towards his sister in a offering. Elia nodded to her daughter to at least take the offered toy, or he might become sad over it.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elia and Rhaegar was married in the year 280 after the Conquest, Rhaenys being born later the same year, and Elia's ancestors Maron and Daenerys married in 187 after the Conquest
> 
> Harad, fully named Haradwaith, is the immense realm located south of both Gondor and Mordor. The Men of Harad were known as Southrons or Haradrim ("South-multitude"). According to the information found on the various Tolkien wikis, the people of Near Harad were brown-skinned, with black hair and dark eyes, which is why Éowyn mistakes Elia as coming from there. 
> 
> Mereliss is a name in Old English which means “Famous kindness”, and with Théodred's mother Elfhild dying at his birth he logically would have needed a wet nurse to ensure that he would survive


	3. Different lands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first days in Edoras are a little tricky due to the language difference and Elia not being sure of where she and her children really is

Rohan, she had heard them mention several times, the kind maids who checked on her and the children several times over the days, to see if there was any help needed. By now, Elia felt strong enough to leave her bed for a longer time, which Rhaenys and Aegon was much delighted over because it meant that she finally had the energy to play with them better.     

 

Was Rohan the name of where they was now? She had never heard of it in Westeros, could it be a local name for a place somewhere? It was not enough cold to be in the North, for sure. And she had not seen any rivers , so that ruled out the Riverlands as well. Hopefully not anywhere in the Crownlands, because that held the high risk of that she would be recognized by someone as Rhaegar's humiliated wife and people from Dorne was not so common there outside those working with trade and as sailors at the sea. The Reach somehow also felt as a very low possibility, again because of the lack of any great rivers and while there was vast seas of grass, there had been rather small villages on the way to this strange city she and the children had been brought to, which badly matched the description of the Reach as the most fertile and heavily-populated part of Westeros.

 

The eastern part of the Stormlands  _ was _ a possibility, but Elia had no desire to be found by Robert Baratheon or anyone who had joined him in the Rebellion against House Targaryen. Rhaegar's madness of vanishing with Lyanna Stark, who was betrothed to Robert, and his obsession with that prophecy about the prince that was promised, had pulled his whole family into the danger. And yet hopefully not the westerlands, not after that Elia had seen King's Landing be sacked by the soldiers led by Tywin Lannister.  

 

“Rhaenys and Aegon will not have to suffer for what Rhaegar did…!” 

 

At the same time, Elia was just glad that she had her daughter and son with her. If she had lost them, she knew that she would never have forgiven herself. They were her biggest treasure, the only joy from a arranged marriage to a reserved husband, which had managed to work reasonable well before that damned tournament at Harrenhal. 

 

“Doran...Oberyn...please be safe, if the two of you and your families are dragged into this as well…” 

 

Elia could only pray for that the Rebellion would not enter Dorne too and bring harm to its people, for her homeland had no fault in Rhaegar's behavior outside that she was his wife. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

With his father giving him the task of being a protector of the foreign lady and her children, Théodred knew that one part of that duty was to ensure that they were clothed and fed. 

 

Edoras did not have the grand markets of Minas Tirith, but the capital of Rohan was still home to several skilled craftsmen and their female variants as well. As such, he was now on the way to that part of the city. 

 

“Aye, my Prince, we saw the lady and children when you arrived home yesterday. Slender lady, I have to say, since she did not seem to have much meat on her body, but then again some people have that body build from birth. Shoes for the lady and both the young kids?” a elderly shoemaker asked, without looking up from the pair of shoes he already was working on. 

 

“Yes. It may be summer right now, but the weather can still turn unpleasant even in this season and everyone know how annoying it can be to have your bare feet in cold mud after a rainfall.” 

 

Mutterings of agreements from the other craftsmen, who had their workshops there as well.

 

“They will need clothing, too. Two of those linen cloth for dresses to the mother, please. I will send Mereliss for a better fitting this afternoon, she may be able to give better details than myself. And is there anything of softer linen here that could fit for a girl below the age of four and a boy less than two years old?” 

 

Linen clothing was preferable on small children, often because it was much easier to wash than wool and the fact that such young ones was drawn towards muddy places to play.  

 

“How many sets, my prince? They are young, but they will be growing so it would be wise to buy a size too large so they can grow into their clothing. Until then, the clothes can be sewn in on a few places.” 

 

Théodred nodded, recalling how Mereliss had done the same for him as a child when new clothes would be brought.

 

“Two everyday dresses for the girl, and two tunics for the little boy, so they can still have clothes if one set needs to be washed. Then one larger size of each garment, with leggings and woolen socks for colder weather.”  

 

Coins was not as common in Rohan as in Gondor, with the common people normally using a part of their harvest to pay taxes, but here in Edoras it was used at least. 

 

Turning around, Théodred suddenly saw something on the western side of  Meduseld's stone ground that would scare any adult;

 

The white-haired little boy, being far too close to the edge for his own safety, because he tried to follow after a much more flexible cat from the stables.   

 

“ _ By the hunters of Béma…!! _ ”

  
  


To be honest, so had little Aegon simply been curious about this strange place where he, his mama and sister was in now. So different from the chambers in that  _ other _ big place, he recalled Maegor's Holdfast in that manner because he did not know its name, and there was other cats outside Balerion to play with! Surely his mama would not be angry if he tried to play with the other cats, only for a little while?  

 

“Kitty? Kitty, kitty.” 

 

The straw-coloured cat naturally ignored the toddler, instead taking a few steps further away to get some peace and then a nice long nap after some mouse hunting in the stables earlier. 

 

Now Aegon was a peaceful personality for someone so young, but he still had the normal curiosity of a child his age and this naturally made him go dangerously closer to the edge as he followed after the cat on slightly unsteady feet. He had not been slow when learning to walk, he simply had needed some more time between the crawling and how to actually stand up long enough to take those first steps. 

 

“Kitty….” 

 

Then one tiny bare foot got too close to the edge, and the surprised Aegon would have fallen to his death six meters down from the stone wall to the ground in that very moment, had it not been for the long legs Théodred had been blessed with from childhood and his quick reflexes which helped him rush up the steps to Meduseld, past the surprised guards on front of the Golden Hall and throwing himself forwards enough long to be able to grab the back of the boy's tunic just before Aegon fell over.

 

“You are very lucky in that I had some training on watching my younger cousins when they were in your age, visiting us with their parents and all too eager to explore Meduseld as well, young man,” Théodred spoke in a stern voice while pulling Aegon up in his arm, trying to calm down his own terror over how close it had been. Surely the maids could keep a better eye on his younger guests than leaving them alone like that? He needed to talk with them, though only a scolding and a reminder to do better in the future should be enough.  

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Elia, who had taken a short nap with her children only moments before, had grown worried when Rhaenys had gently poked her awake and pointed out that Aegon was not in their chamber. The half-open door, and a dropped toy just outside, told enough of where her son had gone. 

 

“Aegon? Aegon, where are you?” Rhaenys called, trying to spot her little brother with Elia not far behind. 

 

“Mama!” a small voice called, and they saw Aegon happy waving from the arms of the warrior who was now a rather familiar face after so many long days of travel together. Although he did not speak the Common Tongue of Westeros, Elia could tell from his movements and the tone of his voice that Aegon had been away on a little adventure by himself but not harmed himself. 

 

“Thank you for bringing him back, my lord,” Elia thanked him with a grateful smile as she took Aegon in her own arms, despite that they did not speak the same language, and for a short moment that smile seemed to lighten up the hall around them.   

  
  


Éomer and Éowyn, who had been watching behind a corner at spotting their cousin carrying the white-haired toddler back into Meduseld, tried their best to not be heard in their whispering: 

 

“Our cousin are not intending to marry her, right? I know that widows can remarry if there is need of it for survival with very young children, but the Kings of Rohan have never married a woman from Near Harad in the past, from what I know. Gondor, yes, or our own noble women, but never from the more distant south.” 

 

“We do not even know if she is a widow, sister. But she is under Théodred's protection and uncle would not be pleased if he hears that we are being rude to a guest to our cousin.”

It seemed like Théodred might have heard them, for in the next moment they had to hide without being seen as he turned around to look behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, who said that only females likes to go shopping? Théodred is now responsible for Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon until that they know what to do with the small family, so naturally he would ensure that they have clothes that better fits the climate of Rohan
> 
> Coins might seem out of place in Rohan, but remember, they are close allies with Gondor and I think that coins could be at least used by merchants and nobility in Rohan, while the common people pay their taxes with a part of their harvest and whatever extra animals, linen or wool fabric they can afford to part with as tax to their King


	4. To find a place to belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elia and her children sees some of the culture of Rohan

So far, Mereliss could tell that the female guest of Théodred could not be a possible spy. Her behavior was that of a woman finding herself in a unknown land, and fearing for her two young children, as if they could be in danger of some kind.       

 

“Did her husband commit a such horrible crime that law demands the whole family executed, no matter what their age?” 

 

Such laws was not the ways of Rohan, but rumours said that it was more common in the far east. Perhaps that could explain why the prince had found only the lady and her children, but not her husband, running away from someone who tried to kill them.   

 

“ _ Lady? _ ” the small girl asked, looking at Mereliss as she helped the mother to dress. Clearly she attempted to address her in the language of their homeland, and it was rude to expect mother and daughter to learn Rohirric almost at once the moment they entered Edoras. With some time, they would learn.

 

“Call me Mereliss,” she responded kindly, and Elia felt brave enough to at least try her name.

 

“Marelis?”

 

Well, different languages was bound to have different sounds and way of pronunciation, so Mereliss did not feel insulted. Lady Elia struggled enough with by having to use body language and sign language attempts in an attempt to explain what she or the children needed.

 

“Lis!” Aegon shrieked from the bed, having a little more success than his mother since toddlers in his age generally was expected to speak words a bit strange before they learned the right pronunciation.  

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Even if most of the people was blonde, Elia knew now that this could not be anywhere in the westerlands. The endless sea of grass she had seen on the way here, the landscape too flat to conceal systems of caves and caverns under the hills.

 

“Are we...even in Westeros anymore?”  

 

Based on the amount of people and the many stands set up, it seemed to be a market day. Elia could see at once that she and Rhaenys would stand out with their black hair and dark olive skin colour, but there was no suspicious looks directed at her and the children, just honest curiosity. Perhaps black hair and dark skin was not very common here. Aegon had the silver-blond hair of the Targaryen family, but it helped to bring out his similar skin color and if anyone saw his eyes, it was actually a colour akin to blue violets, with a hint of purple in them. A colour thankfully enough common in the Targaryen blood to not be viewed as a proof of unfaithfulness.   

 

“Balerion!”

 

The black kitten had jumped from Rhaenys' arms, chasing after a mouse which had just passed by them. Mereliss said something in her language, clearly offering to show the small family something. 

  
  


Mereliss took them outside the wooden palisade as a horn was blown, where a stunning sight could be seen:  

 

At least four hundred riders, all dressed in mail hauberk but wearing various kind of helmets. A few of the riders could be seen in cuirasses of boiled leather, some others in scale armour. Based on the manner they used their swords and round shields against each others, this must be a military exercise of some kind. 

 

A new horn signal, and all the riders turned around to form a long line, three riders next to each other, showing Elia that whatever this place was, its people clearly was a culture where riding and horses was a central part. 

 

Éomer and other adolescents, who was still a little too inexperienced with the weapon training to be a part of military exercise and still four years away from their coming-of-age until manhood, had been tasked with doing some of the basic movements in order to learn the maneuvers on the horses which one day could be the key to survival in battle. So far, none of the adolescents had avoided making fool out of himself by falling off his horse, even if it was normal, But it would so horribly humiliating, if it happened in front of the King and his heir! 

 

A new horn signal, and all the riders put up their horses in a long line next to each other, while the group of adolescents gathered up closer to the wooden palisade which protected Edoras, Éomer even pulling up Éowyn in front of his saddle so she could see better. King Théoden and his heir Théodred was coming to watch their soldiers. 

 

“Kyneg Théoden! Pengel Théodred!” the people around Elia called. She could not yet really understand the exact meaning, but there was no mistake in how the men and women bowed for the two men riding on two almost alike horses. The ruler of those lands and his heir…

 

The man who had saved her and her children. Elia tried her best to not blush too noticeably when Théodred stopped for a moment right where the small family stood, and even offered a faint smile to Elia before he followed after his father again. While this was seen, of course, the Rohirrim of Edoras knew better than start gossiping about it, for words had gone out about Théodred being made the guardian of the unknown woman and her children and why would there be any reason to doubt it? Their culture favorited honesty over lies, and only a fool would disobey orders directly from the King of Rohan. Besides, this was hardly the first time Théodred paid attention to a women, even if his previous attempts of courtship had never become particularly serious. The future King of Rohan did not dislike women, no, he had easy to befriend the opposite gender but had confessed to that despite being 27 years old, he still was not really sure on what kind of personality he wanted in a future wife. He did not live for war, but simply was one of those people who took longer to find the right person to marry. 

 

Once Théodred had joined Théoden and rode further away, Rhaenys looked up on Elia: 

 

“He is a real knight because he saved us, right mama?”

 

“Yes, he is. But until that we learns this language he speaks, we better not tell him that since they might use a very different word for it.” 

 

It was all Elia could explain to her daughter at the moment, for this land and its people was so very different from Westeros that there had to be things which was completely unknown to the Seven Kingdoms here. She only hoped that her family would not be dragged into a war again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, it may sound a little too modern to come of age at 18 in Rohan, but Tolkien himself had to wait until he became a legal adult on his 21th birthday before he could court his future wife Edith, who was three years his senior. They first met in 1908, when Edith was nineteen and he was all but sixteen years
> 
> For both boys and girls in Westeros, sixteen is the age of legal majority
> 
> King - kyneg and Prince - pengel in Anglo-Saxon, I wanted to use some real words from the culture Rohan is inspired by and also to show how the Rohirric, the language of the Rohirrim of Rohan, might sound for a foreigner who have never heard it before. In the LOTR novels it is always represented by the Mercian dialect of Anglo-Saxon. This is because Tolkien saw the relationship between Rohirric and the Common Speech to be the same as that of Anglo-Saxon and English, which was used to represent Westron.


	5. Creating bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New bonds are formed, and poor little Aegon misunderstands something rather badly

If she had counted right, it must be close to a month since Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon had been saved by Théodred. So far, life in Edoras had been reasonable pleasant, but she wanted to know more of the culture here.             

 

“Horses really is important for them,” Elia smiled for herself in amusement when she visited the stables to let her children enjoy the older horses, who could be trusted to not be spooked that easy.   

 

Somewhere outside Edoras, to the east, there was a large stone circle with a altar in the middle. If she watched from Meduseld, which was the highest place in Edoras since it was the seat of the King, she could see small groups of people walk there with things like small baskets and clay jars. It seemed to be their version of a temple and give small offerings and prayers to the gods in the open, since there was no woods to be seen here for miles and not all stonemasons could focus on building a temple, which could take years. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Théodred was leading one small group of people from Edoras who would offer a few pieces of food and prayers to the Valar. He intended to pray to Béma and his wife, the Ever-Young Lady of Spring, asking for help in finding out whatever Elia was a possible widow and if she had any family to return her to, if she now was missing from her home.    

 

“If she have a family, surely she would want to return home…” 

 

The orange silk dress Elia had worn when he saved her, and the blue dress her daughter had worn as well, hinted to that they came from a well-off family. Little Aegon was too young to wear anything more finely, given that he was in a age where small children needed clothes which would not be ruined easy, but as Elia's son he would likely have worn something similar once old enough. 

 

Blood sacrifice was rare, outside except in the fall at the harvest feast, when they searched for a healthy pair of a stag and doe to kill on the stone altar as a sacrifice to Béma. The horses of Rohan was too valuable to lose once a year in a such manner, not even done in desperate times like during the reign of Helm Hammerhand, the ninth King of Rohan.

 

So instead the prince of Rohan simply picked a finger with a normal sewing needle, allowing a few drops of blood to land on the altar before he brought the fingertips over the weathered stone, spreading out the blood with his fingers so that all the gathered people could see. 

 

“Hear this prayer of mine, Béma, Lord of the Hunt and Forests!”

 

The prayer itself was meant to be revealed as a manner of speaking in the head, so no one else would hear what Théodred wished to speak of.   

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Sometime after being at the stables, they had happened to find a musician who played on a lyre, a bit away from where they walked. Nothing alike the harp Rhaegar had loved to play so much.

 

“Mama!?” Aegon gasped in worry when Elia suddenly had to fight back the tears threatening to leave her eyes. It was not tears of grief or joy, however, it was from anger. The humiliation of not being viewed as good enough, that she basically had been tossed aside for a younger woman, despite doing her most important duty and given him a healthy son in Aegon. 

 

“ _ That damned idiot….! _ ”

 

As long as Elia could remember, she had never liked the ballads and songs of love. She had always hated the sweet giggles and soft eyes other girls her age had made at them. Because how could a life be defined by a song? A song that never showed kindness to those unfortunate souls but praised those lovesick fools who threw away everything for their passion, because the songs never mentioned the resulting aftermath. At looking back on her life as Rhaegar's wife, she had still become disgraced by the actions of her husband. She had been foolish enough to believe that Rhaenys was enough to start dragging Rhaegar into the reality of parenthood, even with all the servants to help her care for her daughter. That a beautiful baby boy with sweet dark blue lavender eyes was enough to please Rhaegar and make him start living in reality, not the dreamworld he seemed to be lost in. Hell, even that **_SHE_** herself was enough to ensure that Rhaegar would not do something based on his readings of old books and daydreams. Though she soon realized nothing for him, in terms of what should be the most important for him, his own family, was ever enough against prophecies and the need to be seen as the hero of legends. In what she once had believed to be her final moments, Elia loathed the songs of men. More than she loathed the scent of filth in King's Landing. More than the silent and somber Dragonstone. More than the clumsy touches of that silver-haired twat. More than the stupid prophecy that all these silver fools believed in.

 

She was the woman who had married Rhaegar, and risked her own life in the birthing bed twice to give him their two children. And what thanks had she been given from him as reward? Humiliation in front of all the Lords in the Seven Kingdoms, tossed aside for a younger woman-girl, his need to get the third child she would never be able to give birth to. 

 

“ **_That cursed prophecy he was so obsessed with!_ ** ”

 

Neither Rhaenys or Aegon was used to see their mother cry, since Elia generally spared her crying until after that they had fallen asleep, so for them this was a situation in which they did not know what to do.

 

“Mama, mama, please do not cry…” Rhaenys begged, gently tugging on the dress of her mother, feeling herself starting to become sad despite not understanding why. But Elia found herself unable to stop crying now when it had started. So many tears she had not let out since the day Théodred had saved their lives. 

 

“Elia?” 

 

It was Théodred who had spoken, his face showing a bit of worry but not the confused look Rhaegar had shown whatever she had acted in a different manner than what he seemed to have expected from her. Elia could not explain, knowing too few words still in his own language, but he still opened his arms in a silent permission that she could cry out with him. 

 

It felt good to cry, and Aegon was not squashed between them as Théodred held her close. He even managed to pick up Rhaenys with one hand and held her in his arm so she could hug her mother. 

 

“Just by this...he is showing me so much more attention than that unconcerned blockhead of a inbred prince!”  

 

Even if Théodred had his duties as a prince, he still tried to at least see them once everyday to ensure that nothing was missing for Elia and her children. Aegon clearly liked him to the point of trying to hug his leg as a greeting, and Rhaenys' already faint memories of Rhaegar, caused by his own absence in their lives, was slowly fading away. Théodred had not yet replaced Rhaegar in her mind, but the blurry memories of the Targaryen prince's silver hair and deep purple eyes was not as strong as they once had been in the first days after what had been the final time Rhaegar had seen his family to vanish out of their lives forever by dying. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

One of their more unusual tasks, despite being the King's nephew and nice, was that Éomer and Éowyn had to learn a bit of the basis of cooking, the lessons happening in a small outdoor cooking area to avoid that a building was set on fire. But as one of the most common sayings in Rohan went:  _ If you can not cook a basic meal, you will starve.  _

 

So far, it seemed like Éowyn was that kind of girl who really wanted to learn, but somehow ended up confusing the various steps even with good teachers. 

 

“I burnt the stew again!” she cried out in distress, from where she had borrowed a small pot and a few small food items to make a meal for two persons. Éomer, who had more success with the small bread buns they had planned to have with the stew, calmly removed the pot from the cooking fire and even was brave enough to actually taste a spoonful of it. 

 

“We got a too salty broth from the beginning,” he managed to say after needing to drink a large cup of beer to drown out the salty taste, trying to cheer her up a little bit, not wanting his sister to blame herself for the whole cooking disaster. But Éowyn was a bit sensitive about this failure, because cooking was a very useful skill in Rohan, something everyone had to learn, even the nobles and royalty. 

 

“What if I meets someone I might want to marry in the future and can not even give him a meal made by my own hands?!” 

 

Thankfully, Éomer had a response for that: 

 

“Your decoration skills with nuts and fruits on cakes are very good, so if you just leave the cooking to the servants, I think you will be fine.” 

 

Footsteps was heard, and their cousin arrived with lady Elia and her children. 

 

“Can we help out in the cooking?” 

 

Of course, it was hard to avoid noticing that Elia seemed to have cried, because her eyes was still a little shiny, but from the way she actually smiled at Théodred, it was not his fault. 

 

“Apart from the burnt stew, we still have some pieces of lamb meat, vegetable stock, rosemary, onions, carrots, a little flour and butter…”

 

Elia looked over what they had, and then asked something in her own language, but it was clear that she asked if she could help. With Théodred nodding, she first washed her hands in a small bowl of water to clean her hands, then she took another bowl and seasoned the lamb meat with a bit of the flour and rosemary, before taking the pan to melt the butter and brown the meat. After removing the lamb pieces, she used the remaining flour, cut up carrots and vegetable stock to make a simple gravy with rosemary to add more flavor. Elia had to improvise a bit, but she had learnt a few things from the kitchen staff at Sunspear when she was young and could not do anything too exhausting for her health. The kitchen area had been a place where she could watch without feeling like she was ignored or had to pay attention to how her body felt. 

 

Clearly Théodred and his cousins enjoyed this meal together with their guests, serving the lamb dish with the bread buns from earlier, and the crown prince of Rohan even took care to spoon feeding Aegon from his own bowl, with the toddler sitting between his crossed legs as they did not any small spoon to fit his little hands. But Rhaenys managed to hold the spoon she had been offered since she was a little older, and tried to offer Éowyn a few pieces of soft-boiled carrot.  

 

“Just let her try to feed you once, Éowyn, children that age want to try the same things as grown-ups do to them.” 

 

Even Éomer accepted a piece of lamb meat from Rhaenys without protests, after all Éowyn had once been in that age not too many years ago, with only a few weeks left to her tenth year since birth, and done the same things to him since he was only four years older.    

 

Despite being six persons in total, with varying need of how much food to serve since they were in different ages, there was still some lamb meat and gravy over when they had finished eating. 

 

“I think uncle will enjoy to taste this, lamb are his favorite meat, right, cousin?” Éowyn asked as they started to clean up. 

 

“Yes, if you hurries up to Meduseld right now, I think it will still be warm enough for my father to taste. Besides, I know that he would welcome a small break, there was some important letters he had to write today.”

 

With a happy smile, Éowyn took the small pot with the leftovers in both hands and hurried towards the stone stairs leading up to Meduseld. Inspired by the older girl Rhaenys tried to lit the pan with both hands, but found that it was a little too heavy for her. 

 

“You need to grow a little more before trying anything like that,” Théodred explained in a kind voice, even if Rhaenys was not really sure of what he had said to her. But that he spoke in a kind voice, helped her to understand that it was nothing serious or a scolding. 

 

“I will go back to training, is there anything else you need help with?” Éomer wondered, trying to not stand in the walk for Aegon's attempts of walking without support. Then the white-haired toddler did something unexpected, with he pointed at Théodred, and said in a slightly confused voice: 

 

“Papa?” 

 

For all of that it was said in the Common Tongue of Westeros, Théodred and Éomer realized what kind of word it must be Aegon had said, based from Elia's first shocked reaction and then her own attempts to explain something to her son in the same language. Aegon did not seem to accept what Elia said, given how he grabbed his own hair and then pointed at Théodred again, saying the same word as before. 

 

“Sorry, my lords! We need to leave now! Rhaenys, Aegon, say good-bye!” 

 

Rhaenys barely had time to raise her hand in a small wave, before Elia pulled her along, Aegon in her arms. Only when the embarrassed Elia had left with her children and was out of hearing, did Éomer start laughing.     

 

“I know that there is nothing between you and lady Elia, cousin, but you have to admit that it is pretty funny to see a kid that young mistake you for the father.” 

 

“Tell this to anyone, even your sister, and you will bite the dust during weapon training for the rest of the day,” Théodred warned in a low voice, his whole face red over what just had happened. Éomer knew his older cousin well enough to understand that it was a real threat the prince would not hesitate to make, and that onlookers would only view it as him trying to teach his younger cousin that in a real fight, you either win or die. 

 

“I promise, cousin.” 

 

And he hurried off towards the training area before Théodred could grab him for any added threats, just in case, leaving the heir of King Théoden alone with his thoughts on what to do now. 

 

“It is in situations like this that I wish that mother and aunt was still alive, for some help!” Théodred muttered for himself, turning towards Meduseld to tell his father about this unexpected turn of events. At least Théoden would not laugh at his son, that the prince of Rohan knew.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Béma was the name used by the Northmen for Oromë, and as a rider I think he would have been one of the most important Valar for the people of Rohan. Vána is the spouse of Oromë, with influence with the flora and fauna of Middle-earth, "all flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them", so I thought it natural that she may be called "Ever-Young Lady of Spring" as one of her names among the race of Men. 
> 
> And yes, I tends to imagine Rhaegar as a daydreamer with a strong pull towards being a escapist, someone who have rarely been told that he was wrong about something and became a little too obsessed with the prophecy of the Prince that was promised and possibly also the idea of being the father of a “second” trio of Aegon, Rhaenys and Visenya who would be almost fully grown in 300 AC, given the names of his children with Elia who are born in 280 and late 281/early 282, since Rhaenys is only 15 months older than Aegon. Very possible that he firmly believed that the younger and in terms of possible fertility, far healthier Lyanna Stark would be the “ideal mother” of a new Visenya, since Elia could not have more children after Aegon, but failed to realize just how disastrous consequences his actions would become


	6. A little time together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone from the past shows up in Rohan

He had been mostly right about how his father would react. Théodred was spared from his sire and King laughing at him when he told of what little Aegon most likely had said, but Théoden's blue eyes was still shining in a manner which told of that he found it all very funny, just like his nephew.    

 

“I hope that you did not feel insulted or anything similar, my son, because it could very well be that you look a little alike to lady Elia's husband and that her son's young age made him confuse the two of you.”  

 

Still blushing somewhat, Théodred could only nod in silent agreement. 

 

“Rather the innocent misunderstanding from a such young child, than that he and his sister are scared of me.” 

 

It was not like Elia had learned enough Rohirric to be able to tell where she last had seen her husband, or whatever she knew him to be alive or dead. It could very well be that she was a widow, without any of the protection a husband would normally give though marriage and most likely far away from her birth family and home.  

 

“Oh, and the lamb stew is something I would gladly eat again with delight. It is always nice with something new once in a while,” Théoden managed to tell before his son left the office. He did not miss the slight blush still on the cheeks of his heir before the door was closed.

 

While this was far from the first time Théodred acted as protector for a woman in need, the King of Rohan really hoped that his son might finally find a possible wife and settle down to father his own heirs, so Rohan would not lose the House of Eorl their royal dynasty belonged to. He did not blame the prince for not marrying earlier, sometimes it was hard to find a woman who you felt a good connection with, but he did hope that Théodred would marry before he got too old to avoid some of the worst fears every married husband in Rohan feared: Dying at a bad time and leaving a underage son as the next head of the family. That was the fate of his own brother-in-law Éomund, for example.

A underage King, taking up the crown of a slain father at a young age, would not be able to lead Rohan in war. And Théoden would hate to leave a underage grandson as his heir, if Théodred died before him.   

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

The next day, Elia was still a little nervous around Théodred when he offered to take her and the children to a pasture where some more children-sized ponies was used for teaching young children the first steps of riding. But he did not really blame her, it could be hard to know if someone was easily offended or not.  

 

“Mama! Can I ride?” Rhaenys asked, and Elia nodded to one of the men who was in change of the ponies. Aegon was still a little too young for it, but he would hopefully get lessons as well in the future. 

 

Like the other young girls gathered for the riding lesson, Rhaenys did have linen pants under her dress and a good set of leather boots on her feet, while the boys naturally had pants already from the start. The five teachers showed the children how to approach the ponies from the front, staying in the line of sight. Petting the ponies was a good first step, and then the children got leather helmets to set on their heads as protection. 

 

“No sudden movements, or loud talking, the ponies can be spooked.” 

 

Since the children was still very young, the adults helped them mount into the saddles by using a well-placed flat stone to reach up and Théodred took a lead rein to the pony Rhaenys was riding. Apart from her colouring which set her apart, she could very well have been any other young girl born among the Rohirrim.

 

Rhaenys was not the only one showing joy over the first riding, and she was even invited to come and play by the other children after that the lesson was finished, despite that she could not speak many words of their own language. But that was when body language and hand signs came to be of use.   

 

“Elia, would you like to try a little ride?” Théodred asked, nodding towards a pasture of older horses that was suitable for riders who was not so confident in the saddle. Her facial expression revealed that she had understood the sentence somewhat, probably because his eyes had been hinting towards the pasture. 

 

“ _ I do not know if I can leave Aegon… _ ” she said in her own language, but her worried look towards her son told enough of what she was thinking. And there was someone close-by who could help.    

 

“Éomer? Would you mind watching little Aegon for Elia while she and I am taking a little ride around Edoras?” 

 

“Which one of us two are the one having a younger sibling again, cousin?” the teenager responded in good humour, showing up from where he had just been watering the ponies. Aegon looked a little unsure to be left with the older boy, but was won over by Éomer offering the toddler a little wooden horse to play with in the soft grass.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Ser Amory Lorch was not happy at the moment. He was not the most educated among his fellow landed knights, but he knew one thing:

 

This endless sea of grass was nowhere in the Westerlands at all. He had been on the way home from the capital with the rest of the Lannister family, after a meeting where Lord Tywin Lannister did not hide his disappointment over that Princess Elia Martell and her two brats had managed to escape from him and Gregor Clegane. As long as that Dornish bitch was alive, and with both the Mad King Aerys killed by Jaime Lannister and his oldest son Rhaegar dead in battle against Robert Baratheon, she would be able to claim her youngest brat as the new King of Westeros, the daughter was less important than her royal brother. And Lord Tywin wanted his own daughter Cersei as the new Queen consort of the Seven Kingdoms at the side of Robert Baratheon, if now that northern girl Lyanna Stark could be removed as well.    

 

“He better reward me well for this...searching for any signs of a village is a pain!” 

 

With no squire to help with his armour, his warhorse or setting up camp everyday, he had to do everything by his own hands. And as a landed knight, that was a blow to his pride, for all of that landed knights was the lowest rank of nobility in Westeros. 

 

There in the distance, it finally seemed to be a settlement of some kind. 

  
  


Elia might not have the strongest of female bodies, but she had learned to ride as a child and greatly enjoyed the easy-to-handle mare Théodred had picked out for her while he rode his own warhorse. Sure, she was used to a different saddle, the kind of light saddle used in Dorne and had never truly masted to sit in a sidesaddle as it was viewed as improper by a noble lady in Westeros to ride in the same manner as a man, but it was clear as day that she had some skills. 

 

“You are riding well indeed!” Théodred laughed as they set off in a race from Edoras.

 

“Thank you!” Elia managed to say in Rohirric over her shoulder because she had understood it as a compliment, she had now mastered a few everyday words and felt less ignorant. Mereliss was a good teacher to the small family of three. 

 

Then Théodred saw something come close, something which was rarely seen in Rohan: A steel armour. But something was odd, no sign of the White Tree of Gondor which a messenger normally would wear. 

 

And Elia's happy face turned into horror at seeing the black manticore on a red field. She recalled it from that horrible day in King's Landing, before escaping to the placed where Théodred had saved her. 

 

“ **NO!!** ” she screamed, turning her mare around to flee back to Edoras in wild gallop. Amory had also realized her identity because of her black hair and skin colour, and now aimed to finish the order from Tywin Lannister about killing Elia. Once she was dead, there would only be the two brats to deal with. 

  
  


Éowyn, who had gotten a break from her school lessons, took a seat beside her brother while Rhaenys was still playing with the older children. 

 

“Is that a messenger from Gondor?” she wondered, looking over the palisade to see better. Éomer, who still held a now peacefully sleeping Aegon, tried to see what she had referred to. 

 

“Most odd, I have to say. Uncle said nothing about letters from the Steward of Gondor...wait, is he attacking lady Elia?!”

 

Éowyn was smaller than her brother, and with no sleeping toddler to hold, she could hurry down the wooden stair faster than him over to the stables. On the way there, she grabbed one of the round shields her people favored. 

  
  


Théodred had brought his sword along on the ride and thus could distract Amory in the hope of gaining more time for Elia to escape back to the security of Edoras and the city guards there. Granted, he did not have his armor for protection, but like all Rohirrim he had learned to ride from a early age and how fight in the saddle.

 

“Get lost, your peasant mutt!” Amory growled in annoyance over that someone had dared to get in his way, as Théodred was not showing much signs of his royal status in his clothing. In response, the Prince of Rohan revealed that he was a very good fighter from the horseback. 

 

“ _ It is forbidden to harm someone under royal protection in those lands!! _ ” a voice cried out behind Théodred, and he moved Silvermoon aside at the sound of hooves. Amory mistook it for a sign of weakness, but paid for it only moments later as Éowyn aimed well and actually managed to hit the small opening for his eyes in the helmet with the round shield. Thanks to her own horse galloping, the force was so powerful and unexpected that Armory lost his balance, and Théodred used the pommel of his own sword to knock the landed knight out of the saddle. The weight of the whole armor made sure that the landing was less than pleasant as a group of Rohirrim arrived, capturing Armory and binding his hands behind the back.

 

“Thank you, Éowyn, that was well done to slam him half senseless,” Théodred  smiled at his younger cousin, who clearly was happy over the praise. Then he excused himself and hurried back to Edoras. Elia had to learn that the danger was over. 

  
  


Éomer had not been surprised at all, when Elia threw herself off the mare and snarched Aegon out of his arms, then running off to where Rhaenys last had been seen by her. There had been honest terror in her face, showing that this likely was not the first time someone might have tried to kill her. 

 

“Elia!” 

 

This time it was Théodred who arrived in a hurry. 

 

“She took her children and went up to Meduseld, cousin! I would not be surprised if she have blocked the door to her chamber, just to keep her children safe from that man,” Éomer told the older prince, who nodded and then requested him to take care of Silvermoon while he went to find his father first. King Théoden needed to know what had happened, and Elia likely needed some time alone with her children to calm down from the terror she had hinted at. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Éomund was father of Éomer and Éowyn, and the husband of Théodwyn, sister of Théoden. In the year TA 3002, he was slain pursuing a band of Orcs towards the Emyn Muil, a eastern part of Rohan. Éomer was 11 and Éowyn 7 at the time their father died. 
> 
> And yes, that was a foreshadowing of Éowyn being a future shield maiden and protector of her relatives. 
> 
> Before any of you says that Elia should not have fled at the sight of Amory, please remember that it is only roughly a month in-story since Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon almost met their canon fates. She is a mother to two small children in a foreign country, not a warrior princess ready to defend herself with a sword of her own


	7. To defend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rohan does not care whatever someone is a knight or not, criminals will be punished

“Father!” Théodred called, rushing up the steps to Meduseld. King Théoden had noticed the chaos through a window, seeing his men drag a bound person through the gate to Edoras and away to the house serving as a prison. 

 

“What is going on? I saw that lady Elia rushed to her chamber with her children, and that she seemed terrified out of her mind…” 

 

“ **That man tried to actually attack Elia! Possibly even killing her!** ” 

 

Alright, Théodred had not meant to raise his voice like that, and clearly not against his own father, but Théoden understood that his son was worried about the woman under his protection and was worried about her, especially given how Elia had reacted.   

 

“Calm down, son. She will not react well if you seem like you are about to shout at her. And the children would be scared as well.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Théodred tried to calm down. It would do no good if he could not think with a clear head. 

 

“Let me deal with this man, son, and care for those who are under your protection. If he tried to harm them in the past, then he shall be punished for it according to our laws. And trying to harm those under royal protection are not something he will escape either.”   

 

Pushing him slightly in the back, Théoden made his son towards the chamber where Elia and her children had gone. The King already had a plan for dealing with this unknown man who had been taken by the guards. His son and heir would not have to take part of this, Théodred knew of the harsher parts of life but Théoden wanted to make it clear for everyone that not even foreigners were excluded from the laws that would prevent crime in Rohan. 

 

“Make sure to reward Éowyn later, father, she was the one to knock the man off his horse by surprise and made it easier for the guards to catch him!” Théodred called before his father left Meduseld. A quick handwave over the shoulder showed that that the King of Rohan had heard.    

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

At the same time, Mereliss had managed to make Elia open the door. She could see that the black-haired woman was terrified, holding her children tightly to herself. Even if she could not speak the same language, Elia did understand that Mereliss was worried for her. The memories what had happened in King's Landing was still horrible, and to know just how close they had been to death, had not Théodred arrived to save them...   

 

“Mama, what happened?” Rhaenys wondered, feeling how tightly her mother held her and Aegon. It reminded her of that time, when that giant monster chased them. What had happened to make her mother so terrified again? 

“Elia?”

 

This time it was Théodred who came inside. Almost at once, Aegon tried to totter over to him, and this time Elia had no strength to protest when her son reached out for Théodred. 

 

“Papa!” 

 

Mereliss gave her prince a questioning look over what the toddler said, and the side glance she got in return, spoke enough of that Aegon might confuse Théodred with his real father due to his young age. Oh well, a such young child could not be expected to know much difference between adults who looked similar, that would be difficult. 

 

“Elia, my father will ensure that man will not hurt you or the children again.”

 

She understood the meaning, not all the words but the soothing tone of his voice, and she nodded while trying to stop crying. 

  
  


Meanwhile, Théoden and his personal guards had arrived to the place in Edoras where a prison had been built. Two stable grooms was already checking over the horse the unknown man had ridden. Proving to be a bad-tempered animal, perhaps triggered on by the mares who was in heat not far away, the stallion did not make the examination any easier by biting and kicking. The head stable groom was glancing at the stallion for the bleeding bite in his hand.  

 

“My King, this courser is a truly bad-tempered one. Had it been one of our own horses, I would have ordered it to become a gelding because this is not a temper anyone would want to be passed down to future foals. Being a horse of unknown pedigree from outside Rohan and not brought over by any of the few horse-breeders we trusts from beyond our borders, we would not know other possible bad traits or qualities it could pass down to future offspring.” 

 

Théoden nodded, he might be King but even he knew the basic of horse breeding. It was risky to bring in a unknown horse into the lines somewhere, especially a horse that risked to pass down undesirable traits into the horses born and bred in Rohan for generations. The rare horses imported from Gondor to add in new blood was requested to have a known pedigree, bred at trusted horse breeders, and a list of favorable traits to pass down to the foals.  

 

“Do so, and quickly before the day is over. We would not have him chase after the mares in the stable next-door.” 

 

They heard furious yelling from the prison, and what sounded like one or two guards beating up the prisoner to make him quiet down. 

 

“Sire, the man have been shouting threats at us from the moment he got the gag off. While we do not understand his words, we believe that he is demanding to see lady Elia or possibly that a employer of his will not be pleased over this treatment.”

The guards had gone through the saddle bags, and found a letter with a unknown seal. In fact it was the letter from Tywin Lannister summoning Amory to war against the Targaryens, but the people of Rohan could not know that little detail. As far as they knew, and with the letter being written in a unknown language, it could very well be a proof of that someone wanted Elia and her children dead. 

 

“My King?” 

 

Théoden gave his judgment right there, because as far as he could see, the small family under his son's protection was in danger. That Théodred had needed to use his sword in a fight in order to give Elia time to escape back to Edoras without getting harmed, proved yet another evidence on that this man was a hired killer.    

 

“Bring him to End Life and have  **_Widowmaker_ ** ensure that this man will not be able to leave Rohan alive.”

  
  


End Life was the common name of the execution site outside Edoras, named so for that criminals in Rohan often met their end there. And when the King gave an execution order as he had done today, it was meant to be carried out as soon as possible. 

 

“Tywin Lannister will crush your worthless Lord and his family just like the Reyne-Tarbeck revolt! Blood shall be spilled, the end of a noble name!” 

 

As far as Amory cared, this poorly-built keep and the houses around was the lands of no important name in Westeros, and they would be no match for the troops of House Lannister. But the city guards of Edoras ignored his threats, they had a order to carry out from the King. 

 

“Bind him!”

 

They forcefully stripped him naked of all clothing expect for the leggings, and no less than eight strong horses was chained to his hands and feet. When Amory realized that this was no joke, that he really was going to be executed, he panicked. 

 

“ **No...NO, NO, NO!!! PLEASE STOP!!** ” 

 

But the Rohirrim did not show any mercy, because by attacking Théodred in his attempt to catch Elia Amory had also made himself guilty of attempted regicide. And this was the punishment for those who attacked the House of Eorl with the intend to kill one of its members.

 

By making the horses gallop in high speed with their riders on, Amory was brutally pulled apart under unimaginable agony, feeling how his tensions was tearing apart by the strength by the eight horses, for they were bred for strength and speed. Then, his right leg and left arm was ripped apart from his body, followed by his other leg. 

 

“Are he dead yet?”

 

“No, he still breaths, if only just,” one of the guards confirmed after a quick checking on whatever Amory had died from the bloodloss.  

 

“Then give way for Widowmaker!”

 

Widowmaker was the name of a massive gold champagne-coloured stallion with very dark brown mane and tail, a destrier-alike horse with strong legs and wide hooves, making him ideal for a special type of execution Rohan did for those who was a danger to the royal family. 

 

Amory was gasping for breath, when he saw the massive stallion be led up to him. Then on a sign of his groom, Widowmaker rose high with the front legs in the air and crushed Amory's chest from the impact and weight of the strength of those hooves. Again the stallion reared and brought down its hooves on the human below on the ground, this was far from the first execution it had taken part of and while well-trained, the trainer had taught Windowmaker to make at least one rear, just in case the criminal was not killed by the first impact. 

 

“Well done, Widowmaker. You always prove why you earned that name already as a half-grown foal when you kicked your first victim in the head and made the wife a widow.” 

 

With Amory dead, the dismembered body was pulled away to be placed in a unmarked grave just outside the execution site, as if he had been one among the smallfolk in Westeros he had dismissed as unimportant under his life.   

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Trusting his men to be able to deal with the execution without his presence, Théoden personally searched through the armory after a fitting gift for his niece as reward for her courage and helping her cousin. 

 

“I knew that it was still here, after so many years,” the King smiled at finding what he had been looking for. 

 

A training sword, once used by his sister Théodwyn in her adolescence. Now it would be passed down to her own daughter, and eventually replaced by a real sword when Éowyn would come of age in eight years. Surely his niece would be joyful at getting something which once belonged to her mother, for Théoden knew that she sometimes still missed them, even after three years. 

  
  
  


Back inside Meduseld: 

 

“Cousin? We asked the kitchen maids for something calming to drink, I think Elia might need it,” Éomer said, when he and his sister showed up in the doorway, Éowyn holding a steel tray with one goblet and two smaller cups of wood.

 

“We fixed some warm milk for Rhaenys and Aegon as well.” 

 

Éowyn was proud of her steady hold of the tray, managing to place it on a small table near the bed so it would not be tripped over. Elia and her children welcomed their drinks when they was offered. 

 

“Thank you,” Rhaenys said at being given her cup, though Aegon needed some help from Théodred to hold his smaller cup steady in both hands or he would only get the milk all over his tunic.

 

“Éowyn? Are you here?” they all heard the King call for his niece. 

 

“Here, uncle!” 

 

The princess of Rohan hurried out from the chamber, it could very well be that her uncle wanted this without anyone else present. 

 

It did not take long, before she was returning, grinning in pride and with a training sword in her hands. 

 

“Brother, uncle gave me this training sword for helping Théodred defend Elia from that man! He said that it once belonged to our mother before she came of age and was gifted a real sword as sign of becoming a adult!” 

 

“Our mother?”

 

Éomer had not seen the sword before, but Théodred did recognize it, if only as a very faint memory from his own early childhood. How his aunt once had shown him how to hold a small wooden sword properly, and then shown some basic movements with exactly that sword Éowyn now owned.

 

“A fine gift, and something to feel a connection to your mother with,” the prince of Rohan smiled at his younger cousins, as Éomer tested the weight of the sword. He was at the limit to be able to wear it good because it clearly had been made with the body build and strength of a young girl in mind, but his sister would have a good use of the training sword for several years as she grew up into a young woman.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A courser is a swift and strong horse, frequently used during the Middle Ages as a warhorse. It was ridden by knights and men-at-arms, I thought it would be logical for Amory to have a such horse, being a knight 
> 
> Regicide is is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a person of royalty. So by trying to kill Théodred, Amory did not just try to attack a person under royal protection, but also the Crown prince of Rohan
> 
> A gold champagne horse is a chestnut horse affected by the champagne dilution. It resembles a palomino with a metallic sheen, but can be discerned from a true palomino by its pink, usually speckled, skin
> 
> and yes, the coat colour of Widowmaker is meant to be a hint to the golden spear on the sigil of House Martell, and the desert of Dorne, as well having a build inspired by the American Cream Draft horses


	8. Long-distance travellers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some misunderstandings are bound to happen at some point

The week following the reminder of that Tywin Lannister most likely wanted her and her children dead in order to place his own daughter in the role of a Queen of Westeros, was not that easy for Elia. It was clear that she had been in danger, and the common people of Edoras wondered why.  

 

“Could it be that it is her husband who have commited a crime, that is so serious that the whole family risks being executed regardless of age?” 

 

“Or maybe a blood feud, and she was drawn into it when marrying her husband?”  

 

By the laws of Rohan, blood feuds was forbidden because it was viewed as a waste of lives and would only create distrust between families for generations. No, it was far better with the use of weregild, since that prevented such things, and helped to keep the peace.

 

Still, since everything pointed towards Elia and her two small children being victims, the common people felt sorry for the small family. What could have made them arrive in Rohan, with no idea for how they would be treated as foreigners? 

  
  


Elia, on the other hand, did not know about what the commoners wondered about her background and why she had been attacked. Rhaenys and Aegon was cared for by the house maids for the moment, as Elia had wanted to do some sewing in peace. Right now she was making the finishing touch of an embroidery where she had sewn the sigil of House Martell, a golden spear impaling a red sun on an orange field, made by her using a tabby-woven linen cloth which had been dried orange with yellow onion skins and then using thin wool yarn which had been dried red with madder and yellow with chamomile. 

 

Beneath the sigil, she had used a white thread to create the words Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. It was to remind herself of what she wanted to return to, her homeland Dorne and birth family, far away from the Targaryen royals and anything else which had with the Iron Throne to do.  

 

“Are you sewing on something, Elia?”

 

It was Théodred who asked. Based on the tear at the end of his tunic, he likely had came here to find some needle and thread to sew it together. Even the men here in Rohan, from the commoners to the royal family, knew the basics of sewing, because it was a very useful skill to know.

 

“The sigil of my House. Like the white horse for Rohan,” she explained, pointing towards a long banner with the white horse on a green background to show what she meant.

 

“Your homeland? Is it very far from here?”

 

“It is called Dorne. And yes...very, very far from here.”

 

She could not hide her homesickness, from the way she hesitated slightly before answering. But Théodred understood, he had been in Gondor a few times under his life so far and knew that he was one of those persons who could not stand being away from his own homeland for long. As a fully grown adult, it was only natural that Elia would have more difficult to adjust than her children.  

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

The following day, Elia were once again kept busy in the role of being a mother to two toddlers close in age. Now when Aegon had truly mastered to walk, he was proving himself very determined to try to run. And with Rhaenys sort of encouraging her little brother to follow her as a little duckling, that meant two children to keep a eye on.  

 

“Rhaenys! Aegon! Come back here, at once!” 

 

This afternoon, the little family of three found themselves behind Meduseld, where less houses was built because the hill where Edoras was built, did slope more there and where the sun only touched early in the morning.  

 

“Na, na, na, ma!” Aegon babbled, somehow managing to run past Rhaenys by gravity indirectly helping him since he had aimed towards the open gate in the wooden palisade. 

 

“Oh, taking after uncle Oberyn already, you little rascal?” Elia said out aloud, trying to reach her son before he got though the gate. 

 

“Aegon is escaping, mom!” 

  
  


Théoden heard the voices coming closer, and from how they sounded, it had not been planned that they would come here. He placed the Simbelmynë flower on the grave mound of his late wife Elfhild, as he had done every year since her death in childbirth. Today would have been her birthday, had she still lived. 

 

“Our son was your greatest gift to me, and yet he was also bound to be the last…” 

 

A small shriek was heard, and little Argon found himself tripping into one of the other grave mounds for Théoden's predecessors as King of Rohan, though the toddler did not start crying, only looking mildly confused over the white flowers in front of him. Not far behind, did his mother and sister arrive in a hurry. 

 

“Aegon! I told you not to run….oh!” 

 

Elia became silent in her scolding of Aegon at spotting the King, and quickly sank into a curtsy to show her respect for him, Rhaenys hiding behind her mother. 

 

“Théoden kyneg.”

 

It felt strange to use the personal name of a King before the title, but Elia wanted to use the customs of Rohan while she was there. This way, she felt less like she did not belong there. 

 

“Please rise.” 

 

Théoden was not angry at them for coming here. Instead he looked once again on where Elfhild had been buried. 

 

“You remind me of her, my Elfhild. She was another woman such as yourself, not blessed with the strongest of health from birth yet had a will of survival to adulthood. I met her soon after coming of age, and we eventually found love despite that everyone else told me to choose another woman to be Queen at my side when I became King, for people feared that her fragile health would not allow a successful childbirth. After our marriage she wanted nothing else than giving me a heir, and prayed to the Valar to be blessed with child.” 

 

His eyes showed the grief over Elfhild as some of the memories must come up to the surface. 

 

“ _ Théodred would have been our third child, had she not lost his older siblings in two miscarriages… _ ” 

 

Elia did not understand all the words, but Théoden's manner of speaking and body language told her enough. It was the exact way her own father had spoken about her mother, the Princess of Dorne who had been the ruler of their homeland before her brother Doran until only a few months before she had married Rhaegar. The heavy grief of losing a beloved spouse.  

 

“ **_No mother should have to give up her own life for her child to be born…_ ** ”

 

Death in childbirth was common, but Théoden had never dreamt of losing his beloved wife in that way. Not until the horrible reality had been in front of his very eyes, and Elfhild begging him in a thin whisper to raise Théodred into a Prince worthy of being a future King of Rohan despite that she would not be able to help him in the tasks of parenthood, as her eyes had tried to see both her husband and their newborn son in her arms. She had given up her final breath not long after a tearful smile at the sound of the newborn Théodred screaming as proof of being alive. 

 

“Théoden King!” a guard suddenly called from the hill, “a group of merchants arriving to Edoras, led under Laith Al-Amin from Near Harad!”    

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Théodred was among the people who welcomed the long-travelled marchants, coming all the way from the distant south for trade. 

 

“Laith! It have been a while since I last saw you, your family business going well?”    

 

The Haradrim merchant, dressed in the ankle-long, long-sleeved garment called kandora by the people living in the desert of southern Harad, grinned at seeing the Prince of Rohan. It could have been some similarity between him and Elia for those who rarely saw strangers, bit was mostly the black hair and eyes, with their skin tones being not really the same. Elia had a dark tan with a golden undertone, while Laith had a more reddish undertone. 

 

“Indeed it is going well, Prince Théodred. It is good to see you again after a few years,” he responded in a slightly broken Westron, for it was not his native language. Laith Al-Amin belonged to a family of merchants from Near Harad that had been doing trade with Rohan for a few generations, being the main deliverers of spices and other goods not found in the land of the Horse-lords at all. As the oldest son, it had been natural for him to take over the family business after his father.  

 

Dismounting from their horses, but still keeping close to the wooden boxes in which they transported their precious goods, Laith and his fellow travellers accepted a offer of bread and salt as a sign of hospitality. 

 

“It is actually good that you showed up, Laith, for there is something I hope that you might be able to help with…”

 

Théodred did not get to say more, before Aegon and Rhaenys showed up, shoving themselves between the legs of the adults. Elia was heard somewhere behind, requesting to be let though so she could catch her children. But in that angle, with the sun slightly blocked by the much taller adults, Aegon's hair seemed more golden platinum than the Targaryen silver blonde. 

 

“Papa!” 

 

And of course, the innocent comment which came from Aegon, not helped when he happy hugged Théodred's leg in a greeting as he always did to the Prince in the mornings, could only cause Théodred a incoming headache for the misunderstanding that was bound to happen. And Rhaenys' black curls was very alike to how the House of Eorl normally would inherit curly hair from their ancestors, with Théodred himself being a rare exception with his own straight hair.  

 

“Did you break with tradition about the earlier Queens born outside Rohan and wed a lady who has her family origins from Harad? Did she hail from Linhir, I know that is one of the most southern towns of Gondor...Last time I visited here, you had only visited Gondor, right?” Laith asked in surprise at seeing the two children, not knowing that they and their mother actually was from another world and that was a mere coincidence that they were still young enough to have been sired by Théodred a few years earlier, had they really been his offspring. 

 

“ ** _No._** No, I have still not married yet, so they are **_NOT_** mine,” Théodred muttered in Rohirric under his breath, gently pushing Aegon towards Rhaenys so they could find Elia. Best to explain this misunderstanding as soon as possible, because otherwise Elia could find herself in a situation she should not have to deal with while being under his protection. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Saxons had a system called 'weregild', which meant that if you injured someone, you had to pay for the damage. If a person killed someone, they paid money to the dead person's relatives. The idea was to stop long fights or 'blood feuds' between families by making them pay money instead.
> 
> some of the natural dries to use is madder for red and chamomile for yellow, but yellow onion skins can create a vast colour from orange to yellow as well
> 
> Neither one of Elia's parents are named in canon, and we only know a few details about her mother like that she likely died before the marriage of Elia to Rhaegar in early 280 AC 
> 
> Elfhild was the wife of King Théoden, who died in childbirth, leaving Théoden a widower and the newborn Théodred motherless. At the time of the War of the Ring in 3018, Rohan had been without a queen for forty years.  
> Since Tolkien only wrote down the date and manner in which Elfhild died, I wanted to create some sort of background for her. Théoden was 30 years old when she died, so if he had married Elfhild somewhere in his 20s, that would have given them some years together as a married couple while struggling to have a child
> 
> Laith is a male Arabic name meaning “the powerful lion,” while Al-Amin means "the truthful"


	9. A missing princess and her children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Westeros, the disappearance of Elia and her children is a mystery

King's Landing, a few days after that Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon had been saved by Théodred: 

 

“ **What do you good-for-nothing soldiers mean, you** **_still_ ** **have not found them?!** ”

 

Robert Baratheon was not happy with the news that despite the confirmed death of King Aerys II Targaryen by the hands of Jaime Lannister, princess Elia and her two children had gone missing not long after that the Sack of King's Landing had started. 

 

“Robert, she would have sought a place to hide…” 

 

At his side, Eddard Stark tried to make his friend not doing anything hasty. 

 

“I want her **_dragonspawn_ ** dead, both of them! Rhaegar shall have his bloodline wiped out, I swear that...” 

 

“ ** _ROBERT!!_** **PRINCESS RHAENYS IS ONLY ONE YEAR YOUNGER THAN** ** _MYA_** **!!** ”

 

Robert stopped walking for a moment, actually looking shocked at the mention of his bastard daughter in the Vale. Eddard took the chance to verbally ham in the deeper impact of his words: 

 

“Would you have liked the news of Aerys using spies to find Mya and killing her for being your daughter, despite being innocent and being born on the wrong side of the marriage bed?! That is the exact same fate you plan for Elia's children, except that she is a legal wife, and that would make Dorne see you as an enemy, even if you were to allow her to live!”  

 

That seemed to be the right kind of words in this moment, for Robert actually looked a bit ashamed. 

 

“.....when they are found, bring all three of them to me, alive. I will show mercy to Elia by sending her son to the Wall and her daughter to the motherhouse in Oldtown. That way, they will be allowed to live but not able to make a claim to the Iron Throne, while Elia can return to Dorne with the knowledge of that they are not dead. ” 

 

It was not exactly what Eddard wanted Robert to do with the widowed Princess and her children, but it was an small improvement over having the small princess and prince murdered for who their father had been. 

 

“Oi, Kingslayer! Where is that green cloak your old man's overgrown brute to knight mentioned?” Robert snapped at Jamie Lannister, who just arrived though a side door.  

 

“Near the Iron Throne…”

 

Jaime found himself shoved aside, for despite the injuries he had suffered in the Battle of the Trident, Robert was still strong as a bull. 

  


The green cloak was indeed laying on the steps to the Iron Throne, and based on the look on the face of Tywin Lannister when they arrived, he really was not happy for whatever reason. 

 

“I have had the lists of noble names checked, and _nowhere_ in the Seven Kingdoms is there a House whose banner is a green field with a white horse.”

 

That was a bit alarming, to be honest.   

 

“Maybe a hedge knight who have gotten into the service of House Martell to rescue Elia and her children? That way, he could have hidden them somewhere during the sacking and then managing to bring them out during the night...” Eddard suggested, only for Robert to give him a sour glare. 

 

“Ned, she was last seen in the bloody **_godswood_ **, which is not close enough to Maegor's Holdfast, and there is no secret passages where which she could have used to escape! Have you seen the walls surrounding the godswood here in the Red Keep? There was guards on the walls there during the sack, they would have seen anyone trying to climb up! Not to mention that Clegane said that the warrior was riding a horse! How do you pull up a warhorse over the wall without anyone noticing?”  

 

Lord Tywin had not spoken a word, only glaring at the cloak as if it had deadly offended him for whatever reason. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

In Dorne, the court of Sunspear: 

 

It was a rare sight to see Oberyn Martell deeply in prayers to the Seven, but the current Prince of Dorne, his older brother Doran, had somehow expected it ever since the letter about that the fates of Elia and her children was still unknown. And even more surprising, the Sand Snakes was there too. Well, all expect for the newest Sandsnake, Sarella, who was only three years old, and her one year younger cousin Quentyn, while their true born cousin Arienne had joined them in prayer. 

 

“Are you all praying for their safety?” 

 

Oberyn looked up at the sound of the voice of his brother. 

 

“Yes, brother. We thought that if we prayed together, the prayer would be even strong than of of us praying alone.”

 

Doran nodded in understanding, he had prayed himself not long ago this very morning, pleading with the Gods to let Elia and her children be safe. 

“Can you walk with me for a little bit, Oberyn? You can return later.” 

  


Once they arrived to the solar, the two brothers got more serious. 

 

“Whoever it is that saved our sister, niece and nephew, it clearly is far better news that what we feared.”

 

“Yes. If it is a hedge knight keeping true to his vows, to defend the innocent, then we must reward him if he manages to bring all three of them here.” 

 

Together they looked over a map of Westeros, trying to calculate how long it would take to travel by land from King's Landing to Dorne since very few merchant ships would be near a battle place as the capital. 

 

“I will send a messenger to House Dayne. They, together with the smallfolk of Starfall, should be able to keep a eye out for any travellers. Ashara is familiar with Elia and remained with her as a lady-in-waiting until that she was sent away by Aerys.” 

 

As Doran spoke, Oberyn looked on the map of Dorne again. If they indeed were to reward the savior of Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon properly, the two Princes of Dorne had to plan various possibilities. Maybe all that was desired a employment, maybe some funds to start a family or some lands to call his own. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Not many days later, in Starfall: 

 

“Damn that Northern Wolf for placing a bastard in my belly despite that he should have used his common sense and wed lady Catelyn Tully so she would carry his legal heir, before running off to save his sister!” 

 

The far from gentle words came from the mouth of Raya Rivers, a bastard daughter of House Blackwood, as she laboured to bring out a new life into the world. She had gotten pregnant by Brandon Stark on his way to King's Landing, and fled to Dorne when the Rebellion had started, using her few saved coins to buy a place on a ship which had stopped at Starfall. 

 

“Yes, yes. I nearly fell for that wolf charms as well, but can you try to push instead of screaming?” Ashara requested in a tired voice. Wylla had told her to help in the birthing chamber, to get a taste of what awaited a woman in the battle to give birth, but right now it was not looking good, even she could tell it:

 

Raya had lost a lot of strength, as her baby refused to leave the womb no matter how much she tried to get her or him out from her body. 

 

“No, this can not go on. Raya, I hate to say this, but you must make a choice, either we save your own life or that of your babe.”

 

Wylla was serious, she served as a midwife for the locals around Starfall and knew all the signs of complications. This was the third day Raya was in labour, now losing more and more strength as nothing had changed since midday two days ago. 

 

“Get my babe to Eddard Stark, or bloody use it to swap out the dragonspawn I am sure that Rhaegar bloody Targaryen must have sired on that she-wolf during the time he was missing from the royal court! I may be a bastard born to a serving girl, but I know the tale of the Blackfyres! If that silver-haired pig have a son not born to his Dornish wife, I am not surprised if the High Lords will view the brat as a new Daemon Blackfyre! And a daughter would be haunted by people who tries to use her as a bride, someone to give birth to a undesired claimant to the throne!” 

 

Well, that was a good summary of what would happen, if Lyanna Stark indeed was carrying a bastard child of Rhaegar Targaryen. No matter which gender, the very birth would be a disaster for the peace. 

 

“And a name?” Wylla asked as she put a large dagger in a small kettle with boiling water, then prepared an overdose of painkillers that would stop Raya's heart before cutting up her stomach to save the unborn baby. 

 

“ _Jon Snow_ for a boy, and _Alysanne Snow_ for a daughter, for I could at least name the father even if he is dead and unable to acknowledge my child. Both are enough common names among smallfolk and Lords that no one would raise an eyebrow over it.”

 

“Miss Ashara. Please go out and find some soft cotton blankets to wrap the baby inside, you shall not have to see this.”

 

She nodded, already feeling sick at imagining all the blood that would soon cover the bed

  


Once gathering some soft blankets, Ashara looked towards the Red Mountains, a anger filling her blood when thinking of what she had seen in a Myrish spyglass only the very day before: 

 

A single tower normally used to hold prisoners, but now guarded by three knights in white armour. And with three members of the Kingsguard not having followed Rhaegar back from wherever he had been, the guess was not too hard. Lyanna Stark was held in that tower by orders from the prince, most likely pregnant if his obsession with having three children was true. And with Elia having given birth to Rhaenys and Aegon, there was one possible name left for that daughter Rhaegar likely hoped that she would give birth to; Visenya.  

 

“ _Damn you Arthur! Damn you for not knocking some common sense into that royal dreamer's head so none of this could have happened! Why did you not instead suggest to dethrone Aerys when it was a better choice to do?! Thanks to that idiotic prince, House Targaryen is basically removed as a royal house and now replaced with House Baratheon!_ “ 

 

Doran was correct in that Ashara was very loyal to Elia, and she would not hesitate to prevent that third child from entering the world alive, or at least prevent it from living longer than a hour. 

 

Wylla had also watched in the spyglass to see if she could spot Lyanna in the window, and guessed that the wolf-maid would not have many days left before she would enter the birthing bed too. With Starfall not far away, Arthur would likely ask Wylla to act as a midwife, and if Ashara dressed up like one of the apprentice midwife and brought Raya's child with them hidden in a basket, if her babe lived, it would be easier to swap the two cousins. 

  


When she returned, Wylla was already finished with the operation, laid a sheet over the still body of Raya and now washing a wailing baby in another bowl with warm water. 

 

“Well, the current Lord Eddard Stark have gotten a nephew, it seems.”

 

Jon Snow, huh? Well, it did not matter. The bastard son of Brandon would be useful for their scheme to restore Rhaenys and Aegon into the position as the only children Rhaegar had sired, on his legal wife Elia Martell. They would never have to deal with the danger a bastard half-sibling could mean in the long run.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mya Stone is the first child of Robert Baratheon, born in either 279 or 280 according to the ASOIAF wiki, to a commoner of the Vale. I made Ned mention Mya here to make Robert realize that Rhaenys and Aegon are innocent children just like her
> 
> A motherhouse is a monastic community of the Faith of the Seven for septas and silent sisters, similar to a convent.
> 
> A hedge knight is a wandering knight without a master. Hedge knights travel the length and breadth of the Seven Kingdoms looking for gainful employment.
> 
> Rivers is the surname given to bastards in the Riverlands, and Raya was borrowed from the name of the the third daughter of Lord Cregan Stark and Lady Alysanne Blackwood. 
> 
> Yes, I fully admit it. I am NOT a fan of the R+L=J theory, because not only was Lyanna a teenager when Rhaegar ran away with her despite him being a married father of two children, he had already humiliated Elia at the Tourney of Harrenhal by crowning Lyanna as the Queen of Love and Beauty despite her being promised in marriage to Robert and basically threw Elia away like a unwanted ragdoll when he learnt that she was unable to have a third child after nearly dying at giving birth to Aegon


	10. A mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A search to help Elia finding her way home, starts

Mereliss had been the one to explain for Elia about the misunderstanding from Laith Al-Amin about her children, and the Dornish princess felt very sorry for Théodred.      

 

Sure, Aegon seemed to mistake the Prince of Rohan as his father which could be excused due to his young age, all thanks to Rhaegar running off to Summerhall only days after that Aegon had been born, when he had gotten the news that the childbirth had left her unable to have a third child and then the small family barely meeting Rhaegar in the Red Keep at all before the Targaryen Prince had left King's Landing for meet his death at the hands of Robert Baratheon, but surely people did not mistake her son to be his because Aegon had silver-blonde hair!?

 

“Somehow...it feels like this might not be the only time this misunderstanding could happen…” she thought for herself while washing off herself together with Mereliss, Éowyn and a few other ladies at court in a bath house a bit away from Edoras. It was going to be a welcoming feast for the merchants from Near Harad, and as such they needed to look their best. 

 

The bath house was made of wood and were large enough for three rooms, and while not exactly the standard of a bath house which Elia was used to from her life in Dorne, the bath house was connected to the bakery though a set of iron pipes so the water was heated up by the warmth from the ovens. The first room was where they had undressed and let a trusted maid watch the clothes, the middle room was meant for washing off and the largest room, more or less directly connected to the bakery by sharing a wall, was where they had a warm bath in a large wooden tub.  

 

At least this did not request servant girls to run up and down the stairs with large jugs filled with warm water to fill up a bath in a big half-barrel lined with cloth to avoid splinters, like how it had been done on Dragonstone. For all of the supposed glory of being the wife of the Crown prince and that she in theory would be the most powerful woman in Westeros once Rhaegar was crowned as the new king, Elia had never felt like she belonged on Dragonstone, with all the dragon designs on the castle and all of it highlighted the might of Targaryen dynasty. As if there had no room for the spouses who did not share that blood at all. That the people of Westeros was below the Targaryen dynasty for making them the royal family over all the Seven Kingdoms. 

 

“Come on, Elia, the feast starts soon and we need to dress!” Éowyn said, finishing drying her hair with a linen towel. Well, Rhaenys and Aegon was being bathed together by the household maids up in her guest room, so Elia did not need to think of her children for now. 

 

“Ah…” 

 

Suddenly, as she just had finished dressing into her linen chemise, Elia was reminded of something which did had not been uncommon among the women of Dorne but which was likely going to stand out among the adult women of Edoras: 

 

Despite giving birth to two children with only fifteen months between them in age, Elia had felt that the biggest change was in her now wider hips and a less flat stomach, her bosom size had not exactly “bloomed” much even when she had personally nursed Rhaenys during the first days after the childbirth and the same with Aegon. 

 

“We can add in some padding on  **_strategic places_ ** on the dress if you would like,” Mereliss offered, mistaking Elia's unhappy face for something else. Éowyn were still several years too young to want testing that and thus had no clue what the two adults was talking about. Elia shook her head once she figured out what the midwife had spoken, she had once gotten similar suggestions for the wedding dress she wore in the wedding ceremony where she had became Rhaegar's wife in front of all the royal court and she had refused, wanting the Lords to be reminded that not all women were blessed with a big bosom size or hips that was good in childbirth.   

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

As much as she liked to be in Meduseld and Edoras, Rhaenys still felt that something was missing from the current life her mother, brother and herself was living. She did have Balerion despite that the black kitten often enjoyed to be in the stables and thus smelled as such when he returned to play with her, so it was not him she missed. Not Dragonstone or the Red Keep either, for Meduseld had a far more caring atmosphere.  

 

No, it was her “aunt” Ashara and the other Dornish court ladies of Elia, that Rhaenys missed. She recalled how they had been told to board a different ship when her family had been ordered to come to the royal court, by that scary old man on that tall throne Ser Barristan had claimed to be her grandfather. 

 

“Rhae?” Aegon asked, confused over why his sister seemed to be quiet for now. 

 

“I am fine, baby brother,” she said, distracting him with a tickle attack which made Aegon shriek in joy just as their mother returned in a yellow-coloured dress which brought out her beauty in Rhaenys' eyes.  

 

“Mama, you are so pretty!” 

 

“Then we must thank those who worked to create the dress, Rhaenys. Mereliss, what did you say the fabric was dyed with?” 

 

“Weld flowers, my lady. And this is dyed with woad,” Mereliss spoke, holding up a blue dress which was for Rhaenys. Aegon was to be dressed in a tunic dyed green with chamomile leaves. She thought it good that Elia asked about the colours, for that meant that she learned more words to make herself understood with.  

  
  


As they were seated at a lower table, mainly to keep Rhaenys and Aegon close to the guest chamber when it was time for their bedtime, Elia noticed that there was more cooking pots than normally, but then this was a small feast for their guests, of course it would be something different.

 

On the other hand, there was something very different among the food today. It seemed to be a sort of root vegetable, but the yellow colour was not really what Elia had seen on carrots before. And it was not round in the same manner as a beet, or the right colour. The colour was too yellow to be a butternut pumpkin, so it could not be that kind of pumpkin, as far as Elia knew. 

 

“Mm-m!” 

 

At least Aegon seemed to like it after a first taste, using his spoon to almost shove the food into his mouth. Elia had to gently stop her son from making himself choke, while Rhaenys was encouraged by her little brother enjoying the strange food. The taste of the crop was not too bad, Elia decided, though she was happy to take more of the spinach, green beans and and lettuce salad since leafy greens was one of the foods she knew that her stomach would not be upset by. 

 

“Perhaps I can try making some bread at some time…” 

 

Flatbreads made on only flour, water and salt was the breads she generally preferred to eat in Dorne, since heavy breads and dishes heavy based on meat and dairy would give her a upset stomach. 

 

Still for now, she would try and enjoy what she could eat of what was offered at the table. 

  
  


With the royal family seated together at the high table, Éowyn carefully poked her brother on the arm to get his attention at spotting something she knew to be unusual, then pointed towards Elia. 

 

“Do you think this might be the first time she tastes potatoes?” she whispered, before using her knife to cut up one of her own potatoes on the plate and pretending as if she had been eating all the time.

 

“Possibly. Remember what Théodred told us? That the lands in the south does not have the right soil for potatoes to grow, so they are used to different foods. As a adult, lady Elia would likely be used to the food she have grown up with, while her two children are still young enough to grow accustomed to our foods if they will end up staying here for a longer period,” Éomer agreed, taking more of the lamb stew a servant had just placed close to him. 

 

Since Théodred and their uncle was busy with their guests, the siblings were able to look around in the great hall of Meduseld. That was a unspoken task, to try and spot possible trouble before it went beyond control. A lot of people and drinking was not the best way to things remaining quiet all evening. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Thanks to the feast, it was only the following morning as Théodred managed to speak with Laith Al-Amin about something he hoped that the merchant might be able to at least offer help in. 

 

“So your current theory is that her husband did something which pulled his whole family in danger of death?”

 

While the prince of Rohan could not offer much information outside what he knew and what had been hinted so far during Elia's stay in Edoras, Laith was not exactly impressed with the various possibilities that could have caused her to end up in Rohan. 

 

“As much as I hate to say, it, there have been cases where a married woman found out that her husband had been tempered by promises of wealth, power and immortal life from the  **_Abhorred Dread_ ** and that she was slain to keep silent about what she had found.”

 

Théodred did not need to ask who Laith meant. With the the fear of what was in Mordor, and with orcs showing up at the borders more often…

 

“ **Sauron.** ”

 

Was that the danger Elia and her children had tried to escape from when he met her? An unnatural huge assassin dressed up as a soldier of Gondor, n the hope of trying to mask her death as caused by Gondor by a random accident or honest murder and thus getting a “justified” reason to create a war in the future? 

 

“Anyway, I hope that you might be able to help searching for her birth family. If her husband ordered her to be murdered it might be better for her to return to her parents…” 

 

Théodred held up the embroidered sigil of House Martell Elia had done earlier that week. 

 

“She said something about that her homeland is called Dorne, so if she is a high-ranked lady married off for a alliance of some kind, I doubts that her husband would not get much support in war or some other activity from his in-laws over his actions towards his wife and children.”

 

Laith looked close at the embroidery. A gold spear piercing a red sun on orange background? It was not a sigil he knew from his travels as a merchant, but his hometown and base of business was in Near Harad, not Far Harad. As far as he could guess, Dorne might be the name of a newly created realm somewhere, perhaps by nobles and people who did not want to fall under the spells of Sauron in fear of that it would not be worth all the possible troubles it could mean for their families. 

 

“I will try and create a portrait of the lady and her children with the water colours I brought along and then ask my own wife to make more copies when I returns home, so my servants and fellow merchants can spread the word on their travels. It could be that they are missing from their homeland, indeed, and possibly been searched for by her birth family if her husband abandoned them. Perhaps she was stolen away to make it seem like she betrayed her marriage vows, and was dumped in a unfamiliar place where no one would know her.” 

 

In Near Harad, murdering a wife was a serious crime, especially if she was the mother to the oldest son or another child that was the heir of the father. Not only was the husband destroying his own family by removing his wife in a such brutal way, be it by dagger or poison, but he would also be viewed as untrustworthy around other women who could become the next victim, whether they were a new wife or not. 

 

And claiming that the wife was not loving him anymore or blaming that he had fallen in love with a different woman who showed him all the attention the wife gave to her children instead, was not a legal excuse. Marriage was meant to be lasting until death, a proof of maturity between legal adults. Love was sweet, but it was a dangerous emotion as well because of the emotional chaos that could be created by love. 

 

“Elia is to remain under my protection until that she tells her wish to leave Rohan, be it back to her homeland or any other reason. But she, Rhaenys and Aegon shall not be the ones to suffer for whatever her husband have done.”

 

It was not a oath, but a promise, and that Théodred intended to hold for as long as he could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potatoes might seem like a odd crop to grow in Rohan when they are inspired by Anglo-Saxons, but given that the ancestors to the Rohirrim, called the Éothéod, saw and knew the Hobbits during the Wandering Days, the term used by Hobbits to refer to the centuries-long period of their westward migration from their races' ancestral home somewhere in the wild East, I would not find it strange if potatoes is grown as food in Rohan too. 
> 
> Besides, with Westeros and Arda being two whole different worlds, I think some major differences would be the food, cultures and people. Tolkien himself only allowed potatoes and tomatoes to be added to his work, none other foods from the New World 
> 
> A lot of Elia's health problems are most likely related to that she was born one month premature in a world without modern medicines and if she had trouble nursing in the natural way from her mother or wet nurse, there would be no milk formula or baby bottles for her to feed from, so this would mean that she would not get the missing nutritions she lost from not being in the womb under the final month before birth


	11. Family visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The royal family geta visit from a family member who rarely is in Rohan

The merchant group stayed for two weeks, using that time to sell their goods and to buy items from Rohan that actually was sought-after in the markets in the distant south.    

 

“A very fine set of tapestries, they will most likely be brought by people who want to show off that they can afford this. And the woodcarving of Rohan is famous as well, so they will be sold for a good price.” 

 

Laith had kept true to his words and painted a very nice portrait of Elia and her children, when Théodred had explained to her that Laith might be able to help them finding a way back to Dorne. Personally, Elia had her doubts about how useful it would be, but she was not going to turn down the offer of help. She wanted to at least try and get in contact with Doran or Oberyn, to let them know that she and her children was still alive and away from King's Landing, at least. 

 

So she wrote two letters, one addressed to each brother, in the hope of that one of them might reach Dorne so her brothers would know that she was alive and her children too. 

 

“Perhaps the Seven might show some mercy…” Elia thought for herself while allowing Laith to borrow the embroidered image of the sigil of House Martell, on the ground that seeing the sigil of her family might help in the search for her home.  

 

Laith did not mention it to Théodred, but he noticed at once that Elia was using a writing system he had never seen before, and when she spoke a few words in her native language, the words was nothing he heard before. But if she needed help to get home, Laith would do his best to help, and it was not impossible that her homeland simply had been very isolated for long times in history, there was places in Harad that were difficult to travel to and trade with outsiders not done so often. Perhaps her Dorne was one of those places. 

  
  


“You are longing for your home,” Théodred spoke when he found her standing on the stone steps of Meduseld to watch the merchants leave Edoras for the long journey back to their homelands.   

 

“I would love to be back with my two brothers, away from the place you saved me, and see my children play with their cousins without having to fear for their future.” 

 

Some of the Common Speech of Westeros had slipped into her words before Elia realized it. He said nothing, but the look on his face revealed some understanding because of the tone of her voice. That he kept his distance as well, gladded Elia. Not out of pure distrust because she no longer trusted men, but Rhaegar's betrayal of their marriage vows for the sake of a bloody prophecy and inability to accept that two children were enough after she almost died to give him a son, had hurt her deeply, both as a wife and a woman. Surely Rhaegar could have realised that his  _ precious Visenya  _ could have been a niece sired by Visenys on a good-sister, when his little brother was old enough to marry?! 

 

“Ow, ow! You again?” 

 

The voice of Théodred brought Elia back out of her memories, and she held in a giggle at seeing Balerion using his claws to climb up along the leg of the Prince of Rohan. The black kitten, not so little anymore, had proven himself to actually like the royal family of Rohan in a way that he never had done with Rhaegar. 

 

And the memory of Balerion jumping from the window curtains towards Rhaegar face with all the claws out, was a very sweet one, especially with how he had screamed in surprise at getting his full face blocked by the tiny black furball and Balerion giving him some nice claw marks around his eyes and throat before the kitten was removed. It was just too sad that they had healed without leaving some visible scars… 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Five days later, something different happened: 

 

“Théoden King! A incoming group of riders dressed as the rangers of Ithilien! They are led by Lady Laywyn, my King!” 

 

“Oh, Béma,” Théodred muttered for himself when he saw the riders. His oldest fathu had returned to Rohan for a rare family visit. And with her as a ranger, that must mean that things were reasonable peaceful in Ithilien if she left it long enough to be home for a while. 

 

“Dear sons of my brother and youngest sister, how good to see you both in good health!”

 

Théodred pretended to have forgotten something in the stable and turned around, while Éomer was not fast enough to escape getting caught with her arm around his throat and getting a very firm hug. Despite having only one year left to her sixtieth summer since birth, Laywyn was still strong and tall like her late mother Morwen Steelsheen, the wife and Queen to King Thengel of Rohan. 

 

“ _ Modrige! _ Let go of me, uncle tasked me with bringing his stallion to the blacksmith for new shoes this forenoon!” Éomer protested loudly, not intending to escape from his aunt but he wanted to finish his task. Laywyn laughed, before letting her only sister-son go. 

 

“Where is your bold sword-wearing sister, hm? I missed her birthday, so I want to see her now.”

 

“Modrige Laywyn!” Éowyn called from the steps of Meduseld, hurrying down even past Théoden, who only smiled at the sight of his niece showing such joy to see her aunt. Aunt and niece hugged each other, Laywin even spinning her sister-daughter around herself to show off her strength. 

 

“Sweostor Lawyn,” the King greeted the sole one of his four sisters that was still alive. She, in return, made a curtsy in respect for her brother despite how odd it looked when she was wearing riding pants instead of a dress. 

 

“Brothor Théoden.” 

 

The two sisters, past their prime, smiled at each other without meeting to say more words. At their age, they knew the other sibling well enough to not need words to show fondness in front of people. 

 

Théodred had not managed to escape when Laywyn saw him try and sneak past her, and were caught in a similar bear hug as Éomer. 

 

“Still unmarried, brothor-sunu? You should find a nice woman soon, your old feder was already married with sweet Elfhild when he was your age.”

 

Oh, great, as much as his family did not nag about it to him, Théodred knew that as the only child of the King, he could not avoid marriage forever. It was not for a lack of trying or that he was not interested in women, but most of his former possible wives-to-be had eventually fallen in love with other men over time after a short attempt of courtship. 

 

“I am actually not sure what kind of wife I want, aunt…” 

 

That was the plain truth, honestly. And thankfully his father had not shown any displeasure when Théodred had admitted that the search for a future consort was still not going well. Thankfully Laywyn said nothing more about it, and the family members could return to Meduseld for some time together. 

  
  
  


Elia had been in the great chamber where the women in Meduseld was doing their sewing and weaving whatever they had a free time from their chores, when she heard some of the maids entering, speaking about what had happened out in the city. 

 

“The King's….sister?” she asked, trying to get the word right as she was not fully sure on the pronunciation. 

 

“No need to worry. Lady Laywin is not as scary as she might seem, unless it is a enemy she is facing with a sword or her bow about to send off a arrow!” Mereliss reassured her, from where the old midwife was busy with her hands on a bigger tapestry which was half-done. 

 

Well, Elia had grown up with tales of her own ancestor Nymeria being a commander for her armies and leading them on the battlefield despite not bearing arms in battle, and there was nothing strange about female warriors in Dorne though it was not that common. And Oberyn had spoken about allowing his bastard daughters to become warriors if they so desired when growing up. 

 

“Still...for it to be so different…” 

 

And here in Rohan, there was nothing strange about women taking up arms to defend their homes and families if the men was away in war or something else, she had found out once she had learned the language a little better and able to ask about the stories on the tapestries since they clearly had some meaning. Mereliss was a gold mine of information, telling Elia of customs and laws in Rohan whatever it was needed. 

 

“Perhaps Rhaenys would be able to learn to wield weapons here, together with Aegon...if we stays here for more than a year….”   

 

While Elia herself had always been too frail for joining into weapon training at Sunspear, she had still managed to learn how to use a dagger in defense. Not that great of a weapon, true, but it was better than being all defenseless, as her mother had explained as the reason to why insisting that Elia would learn something at least. 

 

“Lady Elia, the King and his family would like you to meet his sister,” a maid called, before taking over the task of ensuring that Rhaenys and Aegon did not get into a fight over some shared toys in a corner of the chamber. 

 

Excusing herself for a while, Elia laid down her needle-work and left the chamber to where the royal family would await her.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modrige means maternal aunt in Anglo-Saxon, while Fathu is the term for paternal aunt
> 
> Sweostor means sister in Old English, sunu is son and brothor is brother
> 
> Laywyn is a Old English female name that means “Joy in water”. Théoden is listed in the family tree to have three unnamed sisters with unknown birth and death years outside his youngest sister Théodwyn, and since Tolkien never mentioned whatever Théoden had other nephews and nieces outside Éomer and Éowyn, it could very well be possible that the other sisters died without offspring or never married for some reason. According to what I found, Théoden was the second child among his siblings, and with him being born five years after the marriage of his parents, the oldest sister has to be some years older than him if he was the second sibling to be born. 
> 
> As for why the other sisters does not show up in this story? Théodwyn was 39 years when she died of illness and most likely grief over Éomund, the two middle sisters could have married but remained childless until death for whatever reason that prevented them from having children. Or death at a young age, when they were adults or a accident of some kind. A woman dying in her childbearing years does not mean that she died in childbirth like Théoden's wife Elfhild. 
> 
> And why a ranger of Ithilien? Laywin could very well have wanted to help keeping orcs away from Gondor, and formed her own group of skilled archers from Rohan to help out the rangers in Ithilien. Also with Morwen Steelsheern coming from Gondor before her husband Thengel became the new King of Rohan ten years after their wedding, Laywin spent her first years of life in Gondor and likely feels a bond to Gondor as well as Rohan


	12. Those no longer alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the past is filled with names and those who could have been alive, had things been different

Despite that the great hall of Meduseld was not many steps away, Elia still wondered what kind of woman the royal sister might be. Was she a widow, who had returned to her birth family after ensuring that a son would lead the family she had married into? Or were she one of those childness ladies, who had chosen a close relative to be the next heir and returned to her own family to live out the rest of her life with them? Above all, however, she hoped that the lady would not be the arrogant type like young Cersei Lannister.

“I can understand why lord Tywin wanted his daughter to be a Queen at Rhaegar's side, and how all the slights from Aerys became too much over the years, but at the same time, I doubt that the young lioness would have managed being the wife of Rhaegar better than I....”

With how Aerys had treated Tywin under the years, Elia seriously doubted that Cersei would be treated kindly if she had married Rhaegar. Being the Crown princess of Westeros, the wife to the next King, had not saved her from the mistrust, and not only because she was from Dorne, either.

 

Since Théodred had explained the whole situation about Elia and the suspicious reason why she had ended up in Rohan with her children far away from her homeland, Laywyn did agree with her oldest nephew that if Elia were a witness to her husband swearing allegiance to Sauron and she herself knew better than trusting the promises from the Dark Lord, then Elia likely either had needed to escape to avoid being murdered or any other gruesome fate.

“Théoden kyneg,” Elia greeted with a curtsy to the royal family.

“Elia, this is my older sister, Laywyn,” Théoden explained, allowed the two women to look at each other. Laywyn did her best to not seem too stern, since that could give a wrong first impression and while this lady under the protection of her royal nephew did not appear to be of the timid sort, she could also see that there was something about Elia which spoke of hardships in the past.

“Something about her….reminds of Elfhild? Nearly the same age as when my sister-in-law died, mid to late twenties, not dangerously frail but less robust than what would be good…”

But Laywyn kept her speculations for herself, and Elia did not feel like she was reviewed as weak or unworthy of her position, like in the Targaryen court. Rather, Laywyn managed to make the younger women feel welcomed despite that they exchanged only a few sentences because of the language differences, since Elia were slowly learning Rohirric instead of Westron, which Laywyn and Théoden had grown up with in Gondor during their first years of life.

“I hope that my nephew is taking good care of you?”

“Yes, he is. A very...good job,” Elia managed to answer after a few moments of searching for the right words. That was enough for Laywyn, who saw her struggle slightly with find and speaking the right words.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

That evening after the small feast to welcome her back home to Edoras, as the sun was slowly setting to give way for the early autumn night, Laywyn was not surprised to find Théoden at where Elfhild had been laid to rest.

“I may never have married and found any man that I could imagine spending the rest of my life with, but I know that you loved Elfhild as any husband would really love a wife. She was a good choice as your Queen, ignoring her poor health and that she left only one child behind in the living world,” Laywyn spoke, coming closer to stand beside him.

“Thank you.”

Théoden knew it to be her way of showing affection in her own manner. It had been the same all the way back in their childhood, nearly fifty years ago when they still had been young and innocent in a manner adulthood could not return to.

“So...that lady Elia Martell...what are your real thoughts on her? That your son is protecting a lady that reminds of Elfhild without even knowing about it? Théodred can not be searching for a wife that reminds of his late mother, deliberately or without knowing it himself, he needs a strong and healthy wife that can give him several children without dying in the birthing bed as Elfhild sadly was fated to do.”

A much uncomfortable question, but Théoden understood why. Laywyn and his other sisters had not protested his marriage to Elfhild because they had liked her as well, but been very concerned about whatever she would be able to give Rohan a heir that did not risk being frail because of her own health.

“I hope that my son will manage to help her and her children come home to where they lives, and in a way that will ensure that they will not be in danger on the journey back to their homeland.”

They both remained silent for a while, and then Laywyn spoke again:

“Sunnwyn, Mildwyn and Théodwyn are the ones who should be standing here, not us two who are the oldest siblings. They should be the ones to outlive us, together with the nephews and nieces our three sisters should have been blessed with, had only their fates been different.”

Sunnwyn, the sister who always was joyful like the sun. The second-born sister, who had married into a noble family from the Westfold, only to die childless three years into her marriage when her horse had suddenly panicked at being stung by a wasp and thrown her out of the saddle, then kicking her fatally in the head with a hind leg before anyone could prevent the kick from happening.

 

Mildwyn, always a peacemaker and known for her gentleness, had married a husband from the Eastfold in the hope of giving her brother some nephews and nieces to serve as a backup line of heirs since Théodred was a only child and Théodwyn had still been a few years away from coming of age. But she too had been fated to die without any children born from her body; she had been on the way home after visiting their maternal cousins in Gondor, and gotten caught in the Mering Stream, the border river between Rohan and Gondor, just as a heavy rainfall and stormy winds caused the river to flood. Her horse had slipped in the mud because it was so hard to see anywhere in the storm, and Mildwyn had been swept away by the underwater currents when her horse had fallen on the side, drowning in the freezing water out in the middle of the river before she could be saved by her escort.

 

That had left Théodwyn, the youngest sister, to give Théoden backup heirs though her own children as Laywin were seventeen years older than her last sibling and growing more unlikely to have a child for each year that passed. And Laywyn refused to dishonor her family by becoming pregnant out of wedlock since a bastard child would make her flat out impossible to marry off in a desperate attempt to expand the royal family, because a such scandal would be impossible to hide in the long run, even with Laywyn spending the whole pregnancy in Ithilien.

 

When marrying Éomund at the age of 26, no one could know that Théodwyn would not live to see the dawn of her 40th year since birth. She had left one son and a daughter behind, unlike her two sisters, but even the youngest of the five royal siblings had been haunted by children that had not been alive; the first year of her marriage should have been blessed with a son older than Éomer, who had only lived for a few months before a illness of his little lungs made him join his ancestors. Éowyn would have been joined three years after birth by a set of twin siblings, a brother and sister, born too early and only living for a few hours. A final child of unknown gender had been lost in a miscarriage when Théodwyn had learnt about becoming a widow, and it was not impossible that the blood loss from the miscarriage had played a part in the illness that had taken her life not long after.

“It is up to the next generation to take over the task of expanding the family, we are both long past the age when it could be possible for one final attempt. Your boy by hopefully finding a wife to have children with soon, and our sister-son and sister-daughter later when they are old enough,” Laywyn said before opening a water skin she had been carrying in her belt. As she poured out the liquid inside on the flowers covering the grave of Elfhild, Théoden felt on the scent that it was the apple cider his wife and sister had shared a love in.

“A fine gift at your coming home,” he said, and then they both remained quiet again together. Then Théoden had to return to Meduseld for some final things he needed to do, while Laywyn remained at the royal tombs for a bit more.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

During the night, Elia had a nightmare. Moving her head while still asleep, her dreams took shape:

 

_She was back in King's Landing and the Red Keep, hearing the sound of the Sack out in the city. Except this time, she could not move. Frozen like a statue, she could not tear her eyes away from what she saw._

_“The dragon must have three heads...the prince that was promised....”_

_No. Not Rhaegar, as he would sound like when he was so obsessed with the prophecy. The hidden signs of madness that no one knew about, and which she only had became aware of when the red comet had shown up, and the manner in which Aegon had been conceived...._

_The panic when she felt his hand on her shoulder, the weight of the armour like how he had tried to make her turn around to face him the final time they saw each other before he had left to face the rebell._

_“No...no, no! You will have no Visenya from me! You nearly killed me by having Aegon born only fifteen months after Rhaenys! I will have no more children thanks to you!”_

_And that horrible smile when he did force her around, which made him look exactly like his father, showing that his image as a heroic prince was a mere mask for the world…_

_“But Visenya is already here, my sweet wife. Look at her, are she not a beauty?”_

_The unmoving baby in his arms, covered in blood and liquids as if just entering the living world outside the womb…_

_Dragon-like birth defects, in the form of a stubby, scaled tail, silver dragon scales covering the arms and legs in places instead of the olive skin inherited from Elia, yellow eyes like those on a cat staring up into nothingness…._

_A monster._

_Then she saw it there behind Rhaegar the still body of Lyanna Stark on a bed covered in blood...._

_And her own children laying on crimson cloaks, Aegon's little head crushed like he had been thrown towards a wall, and Rhaenys covered in a uncalculated number of stab wounds all over her body..._

 

Elia managed to wake up with only a gasp of horror, instead of screaming so loudly that her children woke up. The bodies of her children, and the feeling of their steady breaths against her skin, helped her to calm down from the horror she had felt over the nightmare.

“My children will never sit on the Iron Throne…!!”

Their father had shown that he was not so different from his own father, and Elia would never let people place Aegon as King of Westeros instead. Or Rhaenys as a last attempt to keep the Targaryen blood alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are confused about why Elia first thought of Laywyn as a possible widow, think about how things are done in Westeros; a widow can be the regent for a underage son, so with Rhaegar dying while Aegon is a toddler, that means Elia would become his regent until that he turns sixteen and is of age
> 
> Sunnwyn means Sun's joy and Mildwyn means Gentle joy in Old English, which I imagine to be the names of the two middle sisters born between Théoden and Théodwyn who was 15 years apart in age
> 
> The Westfold is the western part of Rohan, close to the White Mountains and lying between the river Isen and the Folde. Its stronghold is Helm's Deep.
> 
> Eastfold was a part of the realm of Rohan. Laying between the White Mountains and Entwash, it was bounded by the Mering Stream at the east and Snowbourn River at the west. 
> 
> Éomund was slain by orcs in TA 3002, and not long after that Théodwyn died of illness. Since she was only 39 years old at her death, it is not impossible that she was still fertile enough to be pregnant again despite Éomer being 11 and Éowyn 7 years at the time


	13. Loyalty to the Sun Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of the Tower of Joy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some warnings for this chapter: Planned suicide, lots of blood, kinslaying, death in childbirth
> 
> and please, for the sake of sheer courtesy, no bashing of what the characters are doing in the comments, please!

“Are you really sure about this, Asahara?” Vorian Dayne asked his younger sister. 

 

“It is for Elia, brother, and for Rhaenys and Aegon. The Targaryen prince dishonored them by trying to have a third child by Lyanna Stark, and this may the only way to avoid a new  **_Blackfyre situation_ ** **,** should the she-wolf give birth to a son rather than the daughter he wanted.”

 

Ashara were dead serious, and would not chance her mind. Vorian signed, he knew that his sister actually were in love with Elia, had once been satisfied by serving Elia as a lady-in-waiting because Elia had been in a position where she would most likely marry, and she had never forgiven Rhaegar for the humiliation Elia had suffered at Harrenhal. That Rhaegar had run off with Lyanna Stark, instead of being loyal to the wife who had nearly died to give him a heir, only served to deepen her view that the Targaryen prince was unworthy as the husband of Elia. 

 

“....I understand, and please forgive me for being unable to do anything about this situation....”

 

Ashara responded with hugging Vorian tightly, for hiding her tears of remorse over the pain she was going to cause him soon. 

 

“ **_Elia is the only wife of him, Rhaenys and Aegon his trueborn children from a lawful marriage. Rhaegar shall not have a bastard around to be a threat to them._ ** ” 

 

Then Ashara said something unexpectedly: 

 

“Spread the rumor that the only bastard child around here is mine. Say that I gave in to Brandon at Harrenhal, and that I gave birth to a stillborn daughter. Say that I was in such grief over her death, depressed over losing both my child and my lover, that the sight of Eddard Stark showing up made me jump from the top of the Palestone Sword into the sea, and that my body was never found.”

 

“ **What?!** Your name will be tainted forever if I do that…!”

 

Vorion could not believe what he was hearing from his sister. 

 

“ _ There will, and never was, a Visenya Waters born between Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark! _ There was never a child in the Tower of Joy, and she will be written down as dying from a illness people not born in Dorne often catches if they stay here for long!” Ashara outraged his protests, their violet eyes looking at the other one despite the height difference. Both siblings did not want a argument to be the last memory of each other, so Vorion did let go of Ashara to cool down his own temper. 

 

“Good bye, brother,” Ashara managed to speak before her tears took over, and Vorion could only nod before he went to find his own wife for comfort in his grief. 

  
  


Arthur had shown up three weeks after that little Jon Snow was born, late at evening in the village closest to Starfall, requesting Wylla to help him in something he could not mention in the open...and could she please bring an apprentice or two along for some help? His whole body language spoke of uneasiness, possibly guilt that he could not really hide. 

 

“So the wolf girl should give birth within the coming days, huh?”

 

Somehow Wylla managed to disguise Ashara as her apprentice by donning the clothes of a village girl. The wet nurse to Jon Snow, a peasant daughter who had lost her own babe at birth, were also brought along and the baby boy well hidden in the large basket of cotton rags and other things a midwife like Wylla would need in her occupation. The plan was to swap little Jon Snow with his half-Targaryen cousin once the birth had happened, and ensure that Lyanna Stark's child with Rhaegar never drew breath. A stillbirth was not uncommon after all. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

The so called Tower of Joy was really not a place for childbirth, not at all. The tower were too isolated, with no close village to bring help from if something happened. And Lyanna Stark looked like she had not managed the pregnancy well, she had dark circles under her eyes from of lack of sleep and seemed to not have any appetite at all when Arthur tried to offer her the pieces of a fresh apple.

 

“I want to go home...I want to be home in Winterfell…” Lyanna whispered, her unfocused glace betraying the fever she suffered from. The size of her belly also hinted to that she might have a postterm pregnancy as well. 

 

“Have she tried to starve herself in a desperate attempt to lose the child?” 

 

With the horrible news of Lord Rickard Stark and his heir Brandon being killed along with the rebellion that had started all because of her actions, surely her view on Rhaegar must had changed. Whatever she had run away with him by her own free will at first or been kidnapped, it did not matter now. Her baby had to be born now or she would die with the baby still inside her.  

 

“Be quiet, Jon,” his wet nurse whispered after nursing him and Asahara using her head shawl to make a temporary bed for him to sleep in. It would not do well if his cries were heard before Lyanna had given birth. 

 

After only a few hours with them there, Lyanna's labour pains started. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

As Lyanna struggled to push, new sounds were heard outside. The sounds of swords being drawn, then shouts and the unavoidable battle when the Kingsguard would not allow Eddard Stark to save his sister. 

“ **EDDARD!! EDDARD!!** ” Lyanna screamed in terror at seeing her brother though the window. But she could not scream for long, as Wylla and Asahara forced her back into the room. 

 

“Push out the brat, girl!” 

 

It was far too much blood to not be a risk free birth, and Lyanna collapsed once the little body was out. 

 

“ _ By the Seven! The Gods have punished Rhaegar beyond the grave, no doubt! _ ” 

 

Ashara did not need any order to bring the stillborn child out in a hurry, while Wylla kept Lyanna down on the bed. 

 

“Bring in Jon and stay there!”

 

At three weeks of age, Jon Snow would be impossible to mistake for a newborn infant. 

 

“Give me...my baby….!” Lyanna tried to order, but the blood loss and fever would most likely claim her life soon. Wylla could do nothing else than trying to at least stop the bleeding and give another pain killer to lessen her pains. 

  
  


 Once out in the adjusting chamber and the door closed to avoid that Lyanna would see the horror she had birthed, did Ashara get a proper look at what she carried in her hands:

 

A monster. 

 

“That royal daydreamer caused all of the deaths and wanted a second daughter... _ for this!?! _ ” 

 

Putting down the little body on the floor, Ashara washed off her hands in a bowl of water and changed into her signature purple dress, one single gold hairpin holding her long hair away from the face. A look out though the window revealed that Arthur and Eddard Stark were now duelling each other. Only one of the companions who had followed Eddard were still alive, the other and the other two Kingsguard laying dead on the ground. Picking up Visenya Waters in her arms after wrapping the body up so it would not be seen directly, she screamed: 

 

“ **_Arthur! ARTHUR DAYNE!!_ ** ” 

 

Her furious scream echoed, and the two men ended up in a lockdown mode at the sound of her voice. 

 

“Ashara!?” Arthur wondered in shock at spotting her over the shoulder. 

 

She climbed up, standing visibly in the window frame so they could see what she was holding. 

 

“Ashara! Do not do anything stupid! You do not understand…” 

 

“ **_YOU BETRAYED ELIA AND DORNE BY CHOOSING THE WOLF GIRL OVER THE SUN PRINCESS!! ELIA MARTELL, THE TRUE QUEEN CONSORT AND MOTHER TO THE ROYAL CHILDREN!!_ ** ”

 

And she threw herself out from the window, the wrapped baby held out in her hands so it would hit the ground before her. 

 

Arthur kicked Eddard Stark on the leg so the Warden of the North tripped to his side, rushing forwards with a horrified look as if he hoped to at least save the baby…. 

 

But he forgot that he was still carrying Dawn in in his hands, and Ashara turned around slightly…. 

  
  


There was a sickening sound, as two bodies was impaled on the famous sword of House Dayne. 

 

Arthur opened and closed his mouth, unable to bring out a sound over what he just had done. Eddard Stark saw in horror how the baby of his sister had been pushed all the way down to the hint and Ashara impaled through her stomach. 

 

“No...no...no….” Arthur whispered, and then Ashara looked up at him in defiance, blood coming from her mouth: 

 

“This is the result of what that silver twat wanted!” 

 

The wrapping had fallen apart, revealing that the stillborn Visenya Waters had dragon-like birth defects, a stubby tail, silver dragon scales covering her little arms and legs in places instead of normal human skin, and the unseeing yellow eyes were cat-like.  

 

Arthur was too horrified by the sight, to notice the incoming danger as Ashara drew her hairpin, grabbed hold of his hair and stabbed it into his throat. 

 

“ **_For Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon….!_ ** ” Ashara whispered, seeing how the light went out from his eyes while Arthur collapsed down on his side, a look of disbelief still in them over what she had done. 

 

“Ashara!”

 

Strong hands taking hold of her, freeing her from Dawn and turning her around so she faced Eddard Stark. But she knew that she would soon join her brother in the afterlife, this kind of injury was beyond help. 

 

“Elia….” 

 

And she saw no more as the darkness of death clouded her sight. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Still holding the body of Ashara in his arms, Eddard Stark could not believe what he just had seen: 

 

The Sword of the Morning killed by his own sister, Ashara using her brother to kill herself and directly making both of them guilty of kinslaying. The still impaled body of a newborn, showing all the signs of the children with dragon defects that the Targaryens sometimes could give birth to…

 

“...Lord Stark? The girl child shows traces of House Stark in the face…” Howland Reed spoke up after freeing the tiny body and wrapping it up in the discarded white cloak of Arthur. 

 

By the Old Gods, was it his niece he just had witnessed to be killed?!

 

“...Lyanna….I have to see Lyanna!” 

 

The sole door to the tower was locked, but a key was found on the ground so they could open. 

  
  


Neither Wylla or the wet nurse was surprised by the door to the inner chamber being thrown up by force. 

 

“Lyanna!” 

 

Eddard rushed over to the bed where his deadly pale sister laid, already feeling the strong scent of blood mixed with roses in the room. A withered wreath of blue winter roses were the reason behind the rose scent. 

 

“Father….? Brandon….?” Lyanna whispered at feeling his hand touch her own, the fever having already taken much of her strength, and the blood loss from the difficult birth of her stillborn daughter had been the final blow. There was nothing that could save her. 

 

“It is me, Lyanna, I am finally here….” Eddard answered, fighting against his own tears over that he could do nothing. 

 

“Ned...promise me…” 

 

There was a fear in her eyes, as she struggled to see him. He held her close, lifting her slightly up from the pillows. 

 

“Promise me...to b-bring me... **_home_ ** ….Winterfell…” 

 

“I promise, Lyanna, I promise. You will return home with me, and you shall never have to be in the south again.” 

 

The fear left her, and she managed to smile weakly as her fingers clutched his own in a tight grip. Then she lost the fight against the Stranger, her final breath leaving in a weak gasp. 

  
  


The chamber was silent for a few moments, before the cry of a baby filled it. Eddard looked up in shock at the sound, tears still on his face. 

 

“What….?” 

 

Wylla stood in the door, holding Jon Snow in her arms. 

 

“Your nephew by your late brother,  **_Jon Snow,_ ** though a natural daughter of House Blackwood. He was born three weeks ago.” 

 

Eddard barely had time to release the body of Lyanna, before the baby boy was placed in his arms instead. It was impossible to not notice the Stark look already present on little Jon, the one which Visenya Waters had missed, since she had shown her Targaryen lineage even without the dragon birth defects. 

 

“Had your brother wed miss Caterlyn Tully before rushing off to the capital, this boy could have been his heir.” 

 

Oh no, Eddard realized, recalling the letter from Riverrun that Catelyn had given him a son named Robb Stark just before the Battle of the Trident, about five weeks ago if he had counted right. How would his wife react to seeing a child that could have been hers with Brandon, had things just been a little bit different? 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Postterm pregnancy is the condition of a woman who has not yet delivered her baby after 42 weeks of gestation, two weeks beyond the median duration of a human pregnancy of about 40 weeks (mean duration of pregnancy varies by parity). Post-mature births can carry risks for both the mother and the infant, including fetal malnutrition.
> 
> Vorian Dayne, called the Sword of the Evening, was the last King of the Torrentine from House Dayne in Dorne. Since Arthur was a younger son but his brother, Lord Dayne at the time of the Rebellion, is unnamed in canon, I chose the name of a ancestor for him
> 
> In this version, Ashara is a lesbian who was in love with Elia for a long time, and showed her loyalty towards Elia by ensuring that Rhaegar would have no other children left behind as legacy than Rhaenys and Aegon


	14. The colder seasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Autumn and winter arrives to Rohan
> 
> (and the Mountain that Rides, is about to learn how his victims in canon feels when facing someone much bigger)

She should have expected it, yet Elia had once again proven herself to be a human with her flaws. It was by pure luck that neither she or her children had fallen ill from something during their first months in Rohan. And when one of the unfamiliar illnesses of this new world found them, they were struck hard. 

 

“Autumn fever, and given how ill all three of them are, I doubt that that this recurrent disease is found in the south,“ a healer confirmed to Théodred when he had been alarmed by how feverish Elia was where she laid in bed, and how both Rhaenys and Aegon seemed so exhausted that it was a struggle just to sit up in bed to drink or eat something.   

 

“I though it to the Autumn fever too, with how several children in Edoras have fallen ill over the past days, but I wanted to ensure that I was not mistaken.”

 

Autumn fever was not fatal, it simply was one of those illnesses that returned each year when summer gave away for the colder weather of autumn, which had given its name.  

 

Having suffered from the illness himself as a child, since pre-adolescence children was the most common victims by Autumn fever though it was not unheard of that adults could become ill from it as well, Théodred knew how to treat it. Mostly to by drinking boiled water which had been allowed to cool so it was not too warm and soup or other foods that was easy on the stomach. 

  


Elia was not happy over being so ill that she had to stay in bed. It reminded her far too much of the six months she had been bedridden after giving birth to Rhaenys, where some of her suspicions about Rhaegar had been partly confirmed. With a husband that seemed to live in a dream world, there had been next to no encouraging on his part, and her attempts at deeper conversation had often resulted in him just staring at her as if he couldn't imagine that she actually had an opinion on things. 

“Given how little actual power Rhaella had despite being the queen consort, a position meant to be the most powerful woman in Westeros, I seriously doubt that her blockhead to firstborn ever saw a scene where she proved herself to be more than a broodmare!” 

 

A careful knock on the door, and Théodred entered with a tray in his hand. 

 

“I thought that some soft-boiled pieces of apple might be nice for you three to eat.”

 

Even if it was something such simple as offering some snack for her and the children, Elia still appreciated the gesture. She was still a little wary around him, for the actions of Rhaegar had left some of her confidence in men that was not her birth family in ruins. But Théodred allowed her the space she needed, and Rhaenys was overjoyed when Balerion returned to join the small family on the bed for a nap. 

  


Thankfully, they only had to suffer though the Autumn fever for seven days before the illness found new victims. Éowyn was the next unlucky one in the royal household to fall ill, but she was more familiar with the illness from her past autumns of life and instead spent her illness-spent days in bed with challenge his brother to try to come up with more made-up stories for her to listen to, because it also trained him to memorize important stories from Rohan's history and folktales. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Autumn proved to be a busy time in Rohan. The harvest would be collected and a part of it used as taxes to the king, the rest the farmers could keep for themselves or they would starve during the cold winter months later. Animals would be chosen for slaughter, becoming food for winter as well.  

 

Even Elia, who had worried about not being able to do much hard work, had found herself with the task of spinning and weaving more fabric from the wool into woollen fabric and flax fibers into linen fabric. She was only happy to help out, for while she was not that accustomed to those chores from her life in Dorne, she could at least benefit her hosts by working for the food she ate. 

 

“Elia, there is no need for you to work that hard, we have done enough of this today,” Laywyn said after showing Éowyn how to knit. Even the females in the royal family had to know how to sew, weave and knitting because it was valuable knowledge. And Éowyn wanted to learn so she could gift her brother a new set of knitted gloves at the Midwinter feast, she knew that his current ones was almost too small in size as he had entered puberty this year. 

 

“Oh...alright…” Elia responded, stopping the weaving and instead picking up a embroidery as Laywyn went to fix another errand.  

  


However, it did not take long before her raised voice was heard in the hall outside the weaving chamber: 

 

“ ** _You bungling ne'er-do-well! Are this how you think a maid of the royal household should work?! Is it your idea of being a effective wife when you marries a husband!?_ **”      

 

Mereliss did not seem that much surprised by the loud scolding.   

 

“I think that maid is is on her last chance to prove herself to be a useful worker here in the royal household. People who can not finish their chores in time already now when they are still underage but old enough to start earning a income by working or having a apprenticeship, will not be good wives when they have a household of their own. Same with eventual husbands. Those with their heads up among the clouds are only being burden for their family or co-workers, so they often faces trouble unless they sharpens up and actually do what they are supposed to do.”  

 

“And Éomer tries hard to overcome his struggles with reading in his lessons! He have a good eye for poems, but sometimes it seems like the words are jumping around for him,“ Éowyn spoke up, which made Laywyn smile as she returned into the sewing chamber. 

 

“Trying to deal with a obstacle in different ways is good, for one of them might be the right solution. But I agree with you, Mereliss, a daydreamer is the worst kind of person if I have to deal with them. Especially if they fails to realize that their chosen actions will only make a situation worse!” 

 

“That is why we here in Rohan prefer practical people, who actually do something, like actually taken up anything useful to fight with as a weapon, instead of those fools who neglects their skill with a weapon as soon as their basic training is completed and then think they will still be able to cope with a real battle!”

 

Elia did not understand all the words shared between the two older women, but most of them. In fact, she had to smile at the mental image of how Rhaegar would be viewed as useless according to the view of Rohan. It felt good to know that his behavior would not be accepted in their culture.

 

 

Meanwhile, Rhaenys and Aegon had found some rare color crayons and run off to hide themselves behind the throne where Théoden would be seated if he had not been outside in that moment. In lack of having any parchment to draw on, they ended up drawing directly on the floor. 

 

“And this is aunt Ashara!”

 

Rhaenys was proud of her drawing, for all of that it was merely a stick figure with her best attempt of drawing the black, slightly curly hair she recalled Ashara to have.  

 

“Aunt Ashara is really nice, Aegon, she used to sing songs for us both and mama before she had to leave.”

 

She made a attempt of singing one of those songs, though it naturally sounded a bit off-key because Rhaenys had not gotten any singing lessons yet. But Aegon was just happy to spend time with his sister, even tried to join her to the best of his ability. 

 

Of course, it did not go unnoticed by the servants, but most of them only smiled at seeing the two children. For all of that they and their mother was from a different country, it was still a scene rarely seen in the Meduseld nowadays. Éomer and Éowyn were no longer that young, and the prince had been a adult for even longer. 

 

“It feels a lot more lively with small children in the royal household again.” 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X  


The harvest was celebrated with a big harvest feast all across the kingdom, and no one found it strange that Elia took part of the prayer at the large stone circle with its altar where the royal family of Rohan thanked the Valar for the gifts of the earth that would feed the Rohirrim in the coming winter months. Théoden finished off  the prayer by making his horse gallop in high speed while he emptied a tankard filled with ale across the ground. 

 

Although the King could not hide that he had entered his older years, and few doubted that Théodred would perhaps take over that part of the prayer from his father within the coming years. The crown, and the kingdom of Rohan itself, would not be his until that Théoden had joined his forefathers, but there was other duties Théodred could do in his father's place long before he became the next King of Rohan.    

  
  


Winter eventually came with its characteristic cold weather, and snow covered the steppes of Rohan. Elia had once found Dragonstone to be cold in contrast to Dorne, but now thought that the old Targaryen seat had met a strong challenger. 

 

“I think this is the most amount of layers I ever have been dressed in!” she joked one morning to her children, as they saw how Edoras had transformed over the past days. All three of them were warmly dressed in layers of wool and even cloaks with thick fox pelt at the hoods to keep the bearer warm; Another set of clothes that Théodred had given them as their protector.  

 

“White stuff,” Rhaenys said, joining Aegon in his attempts to figure out what this mysterious cold thing on the ground was. The toddler held up two little handfuls of snow, one in each hand, and then tried to throw it back down. 

 

“You are not doing snowballs not quite right!” 

 

That was the only warning, before Éowyn revealed what a snowball was by hitting Elia's gown, in the middle of chasing Éomer in a friendly snowball fight between the two siblings. 

 

“Tossing! Tossing!” 

 

Being a clever girl, Rhaenys tried to make a snowball to throw back at the older girl, though, it was rather loosely made and naturally fell apart as Rhaenys threw it away. 

 

“You will need to made it harder.” 

 

Théodred had shown up, and Rhaenys watched him create a snowball which he then threw at his younger cousins. 

 

“I think you have to help them in a snowball fight against us, cousin!” Éomer called, trying to take cover from his sister so he could respond with a snowball of his own. 

 

Aegon had first watched, and then taken some snow in one gloved hand. Elia was not surprised to see him slam down the hand on her cloak. 

 

“Now, Aegon, your mother are not the only one to hit…” 

Théodred found himself with a snowball in his face, and Elia laughed at the sight, joined by her children. 

 

“Even I could learn,” she teased in good humor, before spotting Rhaenys run after the older sibling pair a with a great determination to try to hit one of them with a snowball. 

 

“Oh, looks like it will be a full snowball fight with all six of us now.” 

 

The Prince of Rohan turned out to be right, and they spent the rest of the morning in said snowball fight under great laugher, Éowyn and Éomer teaming up against the adults while Rhaenys and Aegon was more free to hit whoever they wanted. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Unknown to those who lived in Rohan, however, something strange had happened in the far north in the Misty Mountains. Deep inside the old Dwarven mansion called Khazad-dûm in its glory days, but nowadays known as Moria since the Dwarves of Moria had been forced to abandon their realm in year 1981 of the Third Age, which had happened 1024 years ago. 

 

“For the seven hells, we have been walking for days and there is no end in sight!” 

 

Ser Gregor Clegane, along with a few other Lannister knights, had originally been on their way to join their Lord as he escorted his daughter to be married to the newly crowned Robert Baratheon as the new queen consort of Westeros, but it seemed like the idea of making up camp at the entrance to an old, abandoned mine apparently would not have been the best of decisions. 

 

At waking up, they had found themselves deep inside the mine instead which had only been the start of their current situation, and what was worse, their food and wood to make fire with, began to run out. 

 

“Fucking hell!”

 

Gregor was not the friendliest of men from the beginning, and his displeasure only grew the more time they spent down here in the mine. His size, which normally was very useful for spreading fear against those who faced him in battle, proved to be a major obstacle in the smaller, narrower corridors. 

 

“Damn, we are back at that crossroad again…” 

 

Also, Gregor had also proved to the group weakness in a different way; by wearing the heaviest, thickest plate armor that could be found in the Seven Kingdoms, he was not exactly quiet, either. 

 

“Great, those pests are coming again!” 

 

The orcs that now lived in Moria, had not wanted any intruders and the group already had fought against them several times over the past days. Gregor proved once again to be a monster in battle, but not even a giant like him was able to deal with the orcs alone. 

 

Except, something else was coming as well, sending the orcs fleeing for their lives. And fire was spreading. 

 

“Is that...a dragon?!” 

 

As they were from a different world, they could possibly not know that they were about to face a demon from ancient times in Middle-Earth. 

 

A balrog. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tolkien never mentioned any other diseases for Middle-Earth outside the Great Plague, also known as the Dark Plague, which was a disastrous pestilence that killed untold numbers of people, possibly up into the hundreds of thousands. The plague was brought by an evil wind from the east, and lasted for about 2 years but its effects was visible for the next 200 years
> 
> Basically Mereliss and Laywyn is indirectly pointing out the difference between Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar during the Rebellion. The rebels led by Robert had won three major battles before the Trident, while Rhaegar had spent several months in Dorne hiding away with Lyanna in the Tower of Joy, at least long enough to make her pregnant and to ensure that she would not lose the child in a miscarriage, which would mean that he had to make her pregnant again and wait even longer to ensure that it would not be a second miscarriage before he returned to the royal court. This means that he most likely neglected his needed battle skills during that time to focus on getting his third child, and as most of us know, winning tournaments are NOT the same as winning a real battle, especially if the opponent does not want to risk harming the future King. Also, Robert was strong enough to use a warhammer which is a very different weapon from a sword, and gave Rhaegar a reality check in that a warhammer can kill you in a single blow if it hits the chest to a crushing point. In fact, according to the ASOIAF wiki, the blow was so hard that the rubies adorning Rhaegar's armor were shattered free to litter the river, giving the ruby ford its name
> 
> According to the ASOIAF wiki, Gregor Clegane is close to eight feet in height or 2,4 meters, so together with the armour that likely would need to be custom made solely for him, he would not exactly be quiet in the mines of Moria that would cause a lot of echo sounds from where he walks


	15. Winter solstice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While winter solstice is celebrated in Rohan, something very different happens on the Baratheon-Lannister wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 14 and 15 was originally planned as one chapter, but it ended up being too long and I chose to spit it in two instead. Anyone in for some Clegane barbecue?

Yet one morning in the middle of winter, something were different as Elia woke up for the day. There was a excitement in the air, shared by everyone living in Edoras and the maid servants had gone up even earlier than normally to make Meduseld shine like a polished jewel after cleaning everywhere with sand and water, while the smells from the kitchen promised of something extra. Somehow, Elia felt reminded of the Tourney at Harrenhal, except it didn't feel like anything foreshadowing. Perhaps it was something important happening, it could explain why the servants had cleaned all of Meduseld over the past days. 

“The feast for winter solstice is here!”

Even Mereliss and Laywyn acted more like young girls than the older women they truly was, and for a good reason. This was one of the biggest events of the year in Rohan, a time to enjoy with friends and family. 

“Elia! Rhaenys, Aegon! Come on, we must hurry to the riding challenges if we are to get good places for you to sit on!” Éowyn called from the doors to Meduseld once they had eaten breakfast, weaving with her hands to bid them hurry up. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Those riding challenges were part of every important, annual celebrations in Rohan, but every season brought with it a new challenge for both horse and rider. Winter, for example, could hide ice under the snow and this made a good reason to ride carefully. 

Both men and women took part of the challenges, and even Laywyn gave her opponents a hard time to match her skills in using a bow and arrows. 

“Come on, brother! Win that race, will you?!” Éowyn cheered on her brother with great zeal from where the royal household was seated to watch the riding challenges. Éomer finished third of the race for his age group, but his sister was still pleased to see him among the three best riders. Not long after that race, Théodred proved that he was very skilled with a spear and throwing ax in the competition to hit most goal posts on the field where that challenge was being made. 

“They...are not giving him a easier win?” Elia realized when she found something a little strange, and watched the riders a little closer to see if she had mistaken something. Indeed, just because he was the next King it did not mean that people allowed Théodred to have a easy victory. If he wanted to win, he had to give his very best. 

And that highlighted again the differences between the Prince of Rohan and the last Prince of Dragonstone. While she had never seen Rhaegar fight in what would be his only real battle before death, Elia did not doubt for a moment that Théodred would be the better warrior of the two, if they ever had met face to face. Not only was he three years older than Rhaegar like herself, but born in a culture where being a warrior was a important part of their lifestyle. 

“Good hit there, brothor-sunu!” Laywyn called from her seat which was beside her brother, as the woman with most authority in the royal family since Rohan did not have a queen. As for the King himself, Théoden did not hide his pride over that his late wife had blessed him with a such skillful son. Elfhild would have been proud of her only child as well, had she still been alive in this moment, that the widowed King did not doubt. 

While Théodred did not win all his challenges, everyone agreed on that he had done well. It was a promise of that if there was a war when his father grew too old, he would be able of leading Rohan. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

A few hours later, everyone had returned home to wash and dress in their finest clothing. Elia had found a pale yellow dress to wear, with her children getting fine clothing made from the same fabric. The colour had reminded her of the sand desert in Dorne, and she hoped that it would not stand out too much. 

Thankfully it did not. All the other women at court were dressed in such colours as well, to be a contrast to the winter darkness outside now when the days were short and the nights long. Laywyn had a dark blue and ice-blue dress that seemed to be made in a slightly older style, but its colours matched her well. 

“It is the fashion from when Elfhild spent her seven years as wife to my brother. And since I have rarely been home over the past years, I prefer to keep with the styles I know.”

It was also a way of honoring her late sister-in-law, Laywyn explained as the two women made Rhaenys and Aegon ready for the feast. For all of that Elfhild had never gotten the chance to be a queen, she still was the mother of the next king and had the right to be remembered. 

 

The Yule feast started with Laywyn handing a gold goblet to her brother, and everyone in the great hall of Meduseld rose from where they were seated.

“This night may be the longest night of the year, yet it also symbols that in a few months Rohan shall once again be blessed with new life when spring arrives. Blessed be the new life!” Théoden spoke, and they joined him in the last five words to start the feasting. 

Given that Éomer was still young, Laywyn made a point of giving a trusted maid the task to keep a eye on how many tankards of ale he drank. Hangovers was never pleasant, and she would rather not have her sister-son make a fool out of himself by joining into those drinking contests that always happened at those feasts. Thankfully, Éomer proved himself able to ignore a offered drink in favor of trying to keep Aegon from reaching the tankard when the white-haired toddler tried to climb up on the bench where the fourteen-year-old was seated. 

“You are at least ten years too young for this kind of drink, young friend.”

Aegon pouted when the tankard was pulled out of reach for his little hands, but did not start crying. Instead he smiled at grabbing hold of the remaining bread piece Éomer had not yet eaten, stuffing his cheeks full. 

“Not that much at once, Aegon.”

Thankfully Éomer only needed to give one gentle smack on the small back to avoid that Aegon accidentally choked on the bread. The small boy was confused for a moment when the teenager stopped him from eating again before he had swallowed, but then returned to the remaining bread pieces in his hands. 

“It is a good thing that you had your sister to train on, even if you were only four years older than her, or you would have no idea to act around a such small child,” Laywyn commented before picking up Aegon in her arms. 

“Being awkward would younger children would be poor training for eventual fatherhood, Fathu.” 

While Éomer was still four years from his coming of age, he knew that unless Théodred married a wife soon and had children with her, the task of fathering new heirs to the royal line of Rohan might fall on him if Théodred did not have any children in his marriage. It was not yet a burden due to his young age, but Éomer knew how important it was for the family to expand to next generation. He and Théodred had actually talked about it together with his uncle this summer when he entered adolescence, to explain what it truly meant. And with only him and Éowyn as the cousins to Théodred in their generation, it was a serious matter. 

“Oh, look, your sisters are dancing together.”

Indeed Éowyn held Rhaenys' hands, showing the dance steps to the younger girl as they followed the tones of the music played by the minstrels. Elia smiled, where she and the other adults enjoyed the simple joy of childhood so visible on the two girls. 

 

Eventually, Rhaenys and Aegon had to be put to bed. Théodred helped Elia to gather up the two young ones, since they were in different places of Meduseld. 

“I hope that you enjoyed this feast.” 

“I did, thank you.”

Her children clearly had been having a fun day, to the point of that once they were undressed and put to bed, they fell asleep almost the moment their heads landed on the pillow. 

“Right, I almost forgot to give those to you. Rhaenys and Aegon can open theirs tomorrow when they have woken up.”

Laywyn had been kind enough to explain about of the custom of small gifts on winter solstice between friends, family or spouses, and that as a foreigner Elia would not feel pressured to share that custom since there was different traditions in different countries. Yet Elia was surprised to find a set of handcrafted earrings for her, carefully carved to form a sun. 

“Oh, thank you!” 

She understood that it was meant as a gift of friendship, nothing else. 

“I thought that the sun would be a nice motive, since you often uses it when you are embroidering and it is the sigil of your homeland.” 

Elia smiled warmly at him. 

“It is the thought that counts, shall you know.” 

They did not get a chance to talk more, as they were called back to the great hall since the feast were not yet over. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

In King's Landing, Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister had just left Great Sept of Baelor where they had gone through the ceremony to become man and wife. As the new King of Westeros, Robert had to marry in order to form a new royal dynasty, and with Eddard Stark bringing back the body of Lyanna Stark from the Tower of Joy in Dorne, he had to choose a different bride than his original betrothed. 

No one doubted that this wedding was a trumpf for Tywin Lannister, for that while Ceseri had never became the wife of Rhaegar after being rejected by Aenys for the role, her chance to become queen had returned when Robert found himself with no future wife at his side. Yes, Elia Martell and her children by Rhaegar was still missing, but the Warden of the West refused to miss this second chance to make a queen of his daughter. 

 

Yet, when the new royal couple was about to enter the Great Hall, the throne room with the Iron Throne, for the wedding feast with all their new court, a shocking sight greeted them: 

The dismembered body of Ser Amory Lorch, who had been missing for a few months. And at his side….

Ser Gregor Clegane, whose face had a look of pure terror with staring eyes and wide open mouth, his armour being melted into his flesh at places. Long burn marks on his body as if he had been hit with a flaming whip, then hit with the flaming sword directly without any chances of defense. 

The two men laid on two Lannister banners in front of the Iron Throne, but their fatal injuries were impossible to hide even with the crimson red and the golden lion. The sight of them, along with the smell of death, were so overwhelming that several of the present ladies fainted from horror. 

“A bad omen!” someone whispered, before being outnumbered by Robert and Tywin ordering the servants to remove the bodies at once and to try cleaning away the blood from the blood. A far from easy task, and one which would delay the whole wedding feast. 

How was they to know, that the bodies had been sent from another world, from the Vala Námo who ruled over the afterlife in Arda?

~X~X~X~X~X~X

As for Námo himself, he was currently in the Halls of Mandos, his own domain, and very pleased at the sight of how the new royal court of Westeros was brought into chaos over the unexpected little “tribute” he had sent to Tywin Lannister to find at the wedding of his daughter. 

“Well, lord Tywin, you will no longer have two monster to use in order to make people fear you. Many lives have been saved thanks to the Prince of Rohan saving the Martell princess and her children, so it is only fair that you get those two bodies back.” 

Rhaenys, Aegon and their mother had really avoided a much horrible fate, that Námo had seen in a vision of the future that was no longer true, and their survival meant that they had a chance of living a much better life than what they could have with Rhaegar still alive. 

“However, I would like to find that dragon prince's soul and try to make him realize what fate he would have brought upon them by his actions…”

Oh well, his attempts to reaching out to the other world was not always successful, but Námo was still pleased with knowing that three innocent lives had been saved. 

Besides, the Stranger, his counterpart in Westeros, had been promised the life of the first child Cersei would bear from her brother Jamie in exchange for that Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon would be spared. The others of Targaryen blood would soon be found with the Stranger as well, Dowager Queen Rhaella was already halfway there since she had been fated to lose her life in childbirth. It could have happened already when she gave birth to Rhaegar due to her young age, but this time she would not be able to escape. And her last remaining son, and still unborn daughter were fated to die as well…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prince of Dragonstone or, in some cases, Princess of Dragonstone, was the title of the heir apparent to the Iron Throne during the Targaryen dynasty. The heir apparent's seat was the castle of Dragonstone located on the island of the same name.
> 
> Anyone who knows what happened with Elia and her children in canon, will likely realize the symbolism of Amory and Gregor being found at the Iron Throne.
> 
> As for the fates of Viserys and Daenerys, I will be blunt; Viserys will die as in canon, from the melted “crown” Khal Drogo gives him, while this version of Daenerys will NOT survive the birth of her son Rhaego, due to being only 13 years old at her marriage to Drogo and 14 years old at the birth. Being in her early teens, most likely married off only a few months after getting her first menstruation and probably not having a even supply of food during their life in exile, is what will doom Daenerys to die in childbirth, end of discussion


	16. Little gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is a important day for Rhaenys

It was early in the morning after the Winter solstice, all of Edoras being quiet after the feasts only a few hours ago. Elia had been sleeping peacefully, when she suddenly woke up at realizing something. 

 

“I have to finish Rhaenys' name day gift before she wakes up!”  

 

Or birthday, as they called it here in Rohan. Elia had managed to work out about which days would be equal to the name days of her children here in Rohan, and for Rhaenys it was today, the day after the Winter solstice. 

 

Somehow, Elia managed to climb out of bed and sneak out of the chamber without waking up her children, though Balerion followed after her in the hope of possibly gaining some early food from the kitchen. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Mereliss had gotten some young maids and herself to bed early yesterday, as she knew that otherwise there would be a big fuss in getting breakfast ready for all the other people as they woke up in the morning. 

 

“Oh, Elia?” 

 

The foreign mother was sitting at a small fire in the kitchen, sewing on something in her hands. 

 

“Mereliss! I am sorry for being here so early in the morning, but I realized something very important and I had to try finish what I had planned...as  _ Rhaenys turns four years old today. _ ” 

 

“Oh, she is one of those children begotten around spring equinox? A good time for a mother to be blessed by the Earth-mother, since it is a pain to be in your last months of pregnancy during summer!” 

 

Elia had no idea who the Earth-mother was, but perhaps it was a different name on the Mother used by the common people here in Rohan?  

 

“Then, little Rhaenys shall have something extra today.” 

 

Sugar was a rare thing here in Rohan, even in the royal household as it had to be imported via trade with other countries, but Mereliss knew a simple recipe for a honey cake commonly served on birthdays. In fact, very little things was needed for it; 3 eggs, ¾ cup of honey and ¼ cup of flour. 

 

“Take the 3 eggs and beat them until they are extra frothy. Gradually add most of the honey to let the mixture thicken. Fold in flour and then pour the mixture in a small greased pan with edges.” 

 

The pan was then set in hot embers for the time it took one candle to burn down, checking often to make sure the edges of the cake did not blacken. 

 

“When removing the pan from the heat, drizzle rest of honey on top, and finally cut into pieces when it have cooled enough to eat.” 

 

While the cake was being made, Elia got time to finish the rag doll she had been making for Rhaenys. It was simple, but she thought that it was best for her daughter to not stand out anymore than what she already did with her hair and skin colour among the other children. Besides, a doll was something all girls were given in childhood if they survived infanthood. 

 

Then she heard Mereliss say something which sounded like slightly a rhyme: 

 

“ _ Winter solstice children, blessed with gentle hearts _

_ spring equinox children, far-seeing and healing _

_ summer solstice children, loving and courageous _

_ autumnal equinox children, wisdom and strength _

_ But woe those born of unnatural unions  _

_ those born on the death day of Helm Hammerhand _

_ and double so those born on the Shadow's Night _ !” 

 

The ending part of the rhyme seemed so strong, that Elia stopped dressing up the rag doll for Rhaenys. 

 

“The three last lines of that rhyme…?” she asked nervously, somehow dreading the answer. 

 

“Unnatural unions such as a child being born between a brother and sister, or parent and child, aunt or uncle with a nephew or niece. Inbreeding between such close relatives results in children that should not be allowed the breath of life at all, for their very begetting is a abnormality. People who do that kind of sin over several generations are fated to have their blood die out, because it is only by marriage with people who brings in new blood, by being unrelated to those they marries, that healthy children strong in body and mind are born.”

 

One of the maids explained to Elia about King Helm, the ninth King of Rohan, and how he had been the last king of his line because of his two sons dying before him, same with the sole daughter among his children and the King being too old to remarry because he had died at the age of 68 years.

 

“And the Shadow's Night?”

 

“A really bad day and night to be born on. Such children are flat out said to become the doom of their families, because of their actions.”

 

When Mereliss told which date it was, Elia paled in horror. The day which had became known for the Tragedy at Summerhall, the same day as Rhaegar was born, and what had caused the saying that he was “born in grief” because king Aegon V had died in the flames with his oldest son and his best friend, Ser Duncan the Tall, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at the time. One could really call Rhaegar the doom of House Targaryen, given that outside her two children, there would be only Viserys left when Aerys and Rhaella died. And she did not doubt that Robert Baratheon would dethrone Aerys and send Visenys to the Wall in order to basically end the male line of the royal family. 

 

“Even more reason to hide Rhaenys and Aegon, if we ever manages to return to Dorne…!” 

 

Perhaps she would need to hide in the Water Gardens for the rest of her life, and her children marrying into minor noble houses of Dorne in order to not be found out, but that would be a small price to avoid that they were killed for who their father had been. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

It was Balerion that woke up Rhaenys, by poking on her cheek with his front paw. 

 

“Move, Balerion,” she ordered in a sleepy voice, pushing away the now much bigger tomcat way from her with a hand. 

 

“Meh…” Aegon mumbled in sleep at her side, making a grimace as he got a moving cat tail just under his nose and that naturally tickled as the tail moved back and forth with Balerion not changing his sitting position. 

 

The door opened slightly, and Elia came in with something on a big wooden plate. 

 

“Good morning, sweet Rhaenys. Today you are a big girl on four years old.” 

 

The smell of the honey cake woke up both children properly, and they eagerly begged their mother to taste it, though Elia insisted on that they did something else first. Namely opening the gifts to them both that Théodred had given her the evening before. Opening the fabric bags were a little tricky since the knots had been tied to ensure that none of the children opened their gift ahead of time, but Elia could help them in that.

 

“Blocks!” Aegon announced in joy at holding up two of the coloured wooden blocks he had gotten, in one hand each to show his mother and sister. Rhaenys was happy over the wooden animals she had got, and showed delight over the doll as Elia gave her. 

 

“Honey cake, mama!” 

 

Elia smiled at the sight of them licking off the sticky honey from their fingers, while she enjoyed a small piece herself.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Rhaenys is fifteen months older than Aegon, and is mentioned in canon to have been three years old at the time of the Sacking of King Landing, her birthday would naturally be three months before Aegon's own. For Aegon, I imagine that his birthday would be about three days before the spring equinox in Rohan. And why I chose the day after the Winter solstice for Rhaenys, it is rather simple: any person in RL who is born near or even at a important holiday, would feel overshadowed by said holiday. Like getting birthday gifts that have its wapping in the theme of the holiday like Christmas or Valentine's day, feeling like there is less focus on yourself and more on the holiday 
> 
> I imagine that Earth-mother is one of the names used for Yavanna among the race of Men
> 
> The Mother or the Mother Above, is one of the seven aspects of a single deity in the Faith of the Seven. 
> 
> The link to where I found the simple honey cake:   
> https://christinamercer.com/honey-cake-medieval-style/
> 
> Helm Hammerhand was the ninth King of Rohan, and I imagine that since he died with his sons in a war against the Dunlendings during the Long Winter, ending the first line of Rohan's Kings who descended from Eorl the Young and instead his sister-son Fréaláf became the tenth King of Rohan, the day of his death may be viewed as a ill-omened day to be born on
> 
> Shadow's Night is my idea of the RL Devil's Night, only that in Middle-Earth it is a time associated with Morgoth all the way back to the First Age, likely when the Noldor learned about the so called Treachery of Men which refers to the betrayal to the Union of Maedhros by the House of Ulfang at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Basically one of the most unlucky days to be born on
> 
> Given that it is not uncommon for the Great Houses and nobility of Westeros to form alliances through marriage, some bad genes from both sides of the family is bound to be found. Since Myriah Martell, Dyanna Dayne and Betha Blackwood were followed by the mother and daughter pair Shaera and Rhaella Targaryen as Queen consort of Westeros, both married to their brothers who they also shared birth parents with, I think the Targaryen incest got some new genes as extra “flavouring” from those three non-Targaryen wives before Elia added in some much-needed fresh blood from the spouses that married into House Martell between Maron Martell and the generation with Doran, Oberyn and Elia 
> 
> Since Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon was rescued by Théodred not long after that the Sack of King's Landing had started, it is doubtful that she knows that Aerys is dead. Or that Rhaella is pregnant with her final child and sadly is fated to die in that childbirth


	17. Travels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elia joins Théodred on a journey across Rohan, and Westeros are not the only place where a girl like Lyanna exists

The winter gave away for spring. Elia did not bother much with her own 28th birthday, but it pleased her to learn that while that date of birth tended to mean both sorrows and joy in life, the joys would overrule the sorrows. Especially in the manners of the heart.       

 

“It is not unheard of that such women are married twice in life. That the first marriage is not long-lived for whatever reason, and that a second marriage with a new husband last for the rest of her life,” Mereliss explained when Elia asked about whatever there was a meaning for those born in the early flowering of spring season. 

 

Now, Elia had no plans to remarry, not after how she had lost faith in marriage thanks to Rhaegar's actions. While she did hope that Rhaenys and Aegon would find a good father-figure, someone who would teach them that incest was wrong and that Rhaenys would not need to marry shortly after flowering since pregnancy and childbirth at a young age meant that her daughter risked to die, the idea of a new husband did not was not particularly appealing. 

 

“Whatever the wolf girl went freely with him at first or really was kidnapped, I hope that she got a taste of him **_not_ ** being a heroic knight in shining armour as he gave the impression of being!”

 

A part of Elia was bitter over that Rhaegar had chosen Lyanna Stark over herself, and given that a lot of noble maids could be pretty naive about men due to being sheltered by their families in the hope of “not encourage dangerous ideas about romance”, she wondered if the wolf girl had fallen for Rhaegar's singing voíce since she had been spotted crying at hearing the sad song he had played on his harp.   

 

That horrible day, the memory of seeing all the smiles fade as Rhaegar rode past her and the growing feelings of horror, disbelief, and humiliation at him giving Lyanna Stark the wreath of blue winter roses to wear as Queen of Love and Beauty.... 

No, Elia had really been burned by how she had been treated by the Targaryen prince, and therefore any idea of entering a new marriage had fallen pretty low on the list of her plans for the future. 

 

“Elia? Could you help me for a moment, please?” 

 

It was Théodred, who had found himself “attacked” by both Aegon and Rhaenys, the young siblings preventing him from walking away by clinging to his legs. The sight was at least amusing for her. 

 

“Rhaenys, Aegon, could you let him go before he trips over, thank you.”

 

The siblings were not quite eager to let their protector be free, but Théodred offered a easy solution by lifting them both up in his arms instead. 

 

“That is better, right?” the Prince of Rohan smiled at the children, before he turned his attention to the mother, “Elia, you heard about that I will be away for a few weeks by travel to the various regions of Rohan right? Normally that is Father who does the journey, but he have not recovered fully from the broken ribs he suffered three weeks ago.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

It had happened out of the blue in the stables, after that King Théoden had been out on a riding tour. His stallion had been spooked by something right as the stable groom had taken off the saddle, and the King had been pushed into the wooden pillar between the box stalls. Not anything dramatic outside a heavy bruising and two broken ribs, but Théoden suffered pain whatever he tried to ride currently and that was not good on a journey.

 

“I was thinking...if you and the children would like to come along? It will be several months still before Laith might return on a new trade journey, and it is impossible to know if he have managed to find a way to contact your family yet…” 

 

She could see his point, and why not take a chance to see more of this Kingdom that she had ended up in? It would be nice to get a different view as well, and after spending basically her whole marriage stuck on Dragonstone with the small court there outside the unwelcomed events at Harrendal, Elia wanted to travel again now when she had a chance to do so. After all, she had not been looking for a husband just in Dorne but in several other places of Westeros as well. 

 

“I would love to, but what about Rhaenys and Aegon? They do not have any other relatives here to be caring for them.” 

 

“There will be a few wagons with us to carry food and some other necessary things that neither we nor the horses can bear. They can travel in one of the wagons if they are tired of riding in front of us in the saddle.”

 

That was a good solution, Elia had to agree. It meant that Rhaenys and Aegon could come along, without her needing to fear for them while she was away despite that Mereliss and Laywyn would be able to care for her children together with the maids. 

 

“Then let us go to my feder and tell him of what we have agreed on.” 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

A few days after that the group of travellers had left Edoras, at a home owned by one of the noble families in Rohan: 

 

“For the last time, Cearo! Can you not _bother to learn_ anything useful for your future life as a married wife and mother!?”

 

Sunniva, a former court lady at Meduseld who had once been a possible choice as a bride for Théodred before she had fallen in love and married a husband from the Westfold, was currently not in a good mood. Not because of her husband or one of their young children, but rather someone she happened to share blood with: 

 

Her ten year younger sister, Cearo, who had became her ward since the death of their elderly father two years ago. However, Cearo were not exactly willing to learn what she needed to know for her marriage, and proved to be difficult and rebellious in so many ways that Sunniva had began to lose patience. 

 

“What is the use of learning sewing and other boring stuff when we have servants to do that?” Cearo responded in a bored voice. That she was already turning around to walk over to the stable as she had been planning before Sunniva showed up, revealed her lack of respect for her older sister. 

 

“Look me in the eyes when I am talking to you!” 

 

Sunniva was a tall woman, like all of the Rohirrim, and thanks to being a fully grown adult, she had little trouble taking hold of her sister's arm and force her around. 

 

“Every woman, no matter their social status, have to learn those “boring tasks” as you calls it, because it is a matter of survival! What if your own clothes or your husband's gets torn and it has to be mended, with no servant to do it? What if you are travelling with him, and he is injured in a such manner that prevents him from cooking his own food over the fire? Would you like your neighbors or guests enter an unclean house under your control, where they risk catching lice or any other form of vermin that also spreads diseases!?” 

 

However, Cearo had that facial expression again which indicated that she did not care to listen. 

 

“I don't even want to get married, like all the other girls here. And why do I have to look forwards to have the same stupid life as you, when I comes of age in two years?! I want to be a shieldmaiden and win glory in battle!” 

 

Again that foolish nonsense that Cearo had been repeating ever since she had her first moonly visitor two years ago, that marked her no longer as a girl and more as a very young woman. 

 

“ **_In times of war, it is even more important for every woman that is of age and able of childbearing, to become pregnant because our men are facing the risk of not coming back home alive from a battle! If we are not doing our best to restore the population of Rohan, for all of that it will take another 18 years before the sons are of age, then our kingdom risks to be weakened because it is far too few men to defend our borders!_ **” 

 

Their argument were now loud enough to be heard across the courtyard, and the servants knew from before what it must be about. 

 

“Miss Cearo is having dangerous thoughts. It is understandable that not all young people wants to marry and have children, but she fails to realize that her behavior is not going to win her any suitors at all in the future.” 

 

“If this keeps on, lady Sunniva will kick the miss out of the house as soon as she is of age and lock the door to show that she is no longer welcome to live under her roof, because miss Cearo will bring shame on her sweoster and brothor-in-law in some way if she does not start realize soon that her actions have consequences.”  

 

Suddenly they saw their lord came, and hurried back to their work instead so they would not be caught in the middle of gossiping. Erkenbrand had heard the argument between his wife and her younger sister, knowing that it could very well come to blows if he did not do anything. 

 

“Sunniva? What is going on?”

 

With the older sister hearing the voice of her husband, Cearo took the chance to escape. 

 

“What...Cearo! Come back here, I am not done talking with you!” 

 

But it was too late, Cearo had requested her horse to be ready earlier and she now rode out though the gate in the palisade around the large house owned by Erkenbrand and the belonging village. 

 

Cursing loudly over that she had to endure a such irresponsible sibling, Sunniva faced her husband.

 

“Do not ask what ideas she had in her head now. You are already familiar with how she acts and thinks about the basic skills every woman should know.” 

 

Erkenbrand nodded, knowing how it tormented his younger wife to deal with this situation. Sunniva had been the only surviving child of her parents until her tenth year, when her already older mother had gone through her final attempt of childbirth, and the father had been left with two daughters to care for, one daughter who would be old enough for marriage only eight years later and a newborn, since his wife had been too weak after the birth to live longer than seven days later. The sisters had never been close due to the age difference between them and vastly different characters. 

 

“Come, let us continue the preparations of having the Prince visit our home. Perhaps meeting our shared good friend might bring some cheer into your days for a while.” 

 

Prince Théodred had not felt offended when Sunniva had admitted that she felt better off as a friend to him, or that she had fallen for Erkenbrand instead. It was not the first time the Prince had struggled with finding someone he likened enough as a possible bride, after all. 

 

“Oh, our son wants some milk for his meal!” Sunniva realized when she heard a loud cry from a baby inside the house and felt her milk-filled bosom react, it was only three months since she had given birth to a second son, after all, and he was till too young to be fed more solid food. 

 

Erkenbrand allowed her to rush back indoors so their son could get his milk, and then ordered some of his men to ride after Cearo so she did not find herself in some foolish situation again. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

While the journey might not seem so exciting for those who were natives of Rohan, Elia still enjoyed it. Rhaenys and Aegon were in big wonder over what was happening, and both had a lot of questions about all things they saw from the wagon. 

 

One evening, after that her children had fallen asleep after getting worn out by playing with the guards, did Elia take the chance to ask something she had been wondering about for a while, especially since she learned that Théodred was only a few months younger than herself: 

 

“Théodred...how come that you do not have a wife? You are old enough for that, at least.” 

 

He almost choked on the water from his water skin at the unexpected question, but managed to cough up the water from his throat. 

 

“....aunt Laywyn revealed that I have spent nearly ten years without even coming close to a betrothal, huh?” 

 

“Ah...it is just that...where I was born, men and women come of age at sixteen, and with you being almost twenty-eight along with being your father only child…”

 

This was getting awkward, Elia understood. But for her, with having a younger brother who was drawn to both genders and Ashara confessing her actual feelings for Elia only a few short days before they had been separated on the ship that would take Elia and her children to King's Landing on the orders from Aerys, the princess of Dorne was well aware of that there was men and women who did not possess a sex drive at all. That was one of the the benefits of being born in Dorne, so that she had learned that not all couples was made of a man and woman. However, as the only heir to the throne of Rohan though his father, Théodred was perhaps not having that much freedom about his own choice in a future spouse. 

 

“I am not drawn to my own gender or shunning marriage altogether, but I have trouble to feel any connection with the previous ladies that was suggested to be my wife. So far, all of them have agreed that we are better off as friends, and most of them have found a different husband instead.” 

 

Oh, perhaps he was one of those people who needed a emotional bond to a future spouse first, then? Well, Elia did not intend to ask anymore, she had simply been curious. 

  


Finally, after many days of travel, they arrived to where they would be staying in the Westfold. Théodred had sent a messenger ahead to Erkenbrand and Sunniva to let them know, as well a quickly written letter to explain why Elia and her children had come along. He did not want people to mistake her as a royal mistress, not only because it would be a terrible misunderstanding on the basis of Elia being a foreigner with no husband in sight, but also harmful for her self-image. 

 

“Welcome, my Prince, to our home,” Erkenbrand greeted his future King, and his household joined him in a formal bow. Sunniva had her youngest child in her arms, a legal excuse to not do so as well since that could risk that she dropped her son. 

 

“How pleasant that you have brought guests with you, my friend. A good protector does not leave those he protects unguarded,” Sunniva smiled at Théodred, and even Elia felt welcome when the two women were presented to each other. Young as they were, Rhaenys and Aegon had no trouble finding friends in Sunniva's older son and a few children of the household servants, all them running off to play somewhere in the house. 

 

“I hope that you have not been met by suspicion during your time in Edoras? Foreigners are not common here in the Mark, unless it is visitors from Gondor,” Sunniva managed to whisper to Elia before her infant son demanded her attention again.

 

“No, everyone have been kind, since the prince saved my life.” 

 

Then a sole rider showed up though the gate. A young woman, not quite old enough to be of age, dark-haired and dressed in a blue dress… 

 

The likeness to another person, whom she would have liked to forget, was impossible to ignore. For a moment, Elia was back in Harrendal, on that horrible day when her faith in Rhaegar had been broken. 

 

“ _Lyanna Stark!?_ ”  

 

Then it all became too much in her mind, the memories and everything else she associated with the Stark girl, and dark spots danced in front of her vision. 

 

“Elia? Lady Elia!” 

 

Strong hands who caught her before she hit the ground, but Elia was not quite aware of that someone calling for the servants to help her inside to lay down on a bed, and a feminine voice scolding Cearo for riding out in her finest dress. 

 

“Will I never...be free of her ghost?!” 

 

Then the world became black, and Elia lost her consciousness, haunted by the memory of Rhaegar giving the wreath of blue winter roses to Lyanna Stark in front of all the High Lords of Westeros, openly showing that he felt nothing for his legal Dornish wife. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flowering is a euphemism for a girl’s first menstrual period in Westeros. The blood is the seal of womanhood. It means that she is now fit to be wedded and bedded. 
> 
> Elia is referring to Lyanna as the wolf girl instead of the she-wolf, due to Lyanna being 11 years younger than herself and thus Elia would likely think of her as a girl instead of a young woman. Also, keep in mind that this was the girl who Rhaegar chose over Elia to be the Queen of Love and Beauty, so she is not exactly holding any warm feelings towards Lyanna for various reasons 
> 
> Cearo is a Anglo-Saxon name meaning “sorrow”, while Sunniva means “gift of the sun” in the same language 
> 
> sweoster = sister in Anglo-Saxon, I could not find any word for brother-in-law so I had to improvise with simply adding brothor in place of the “brother” part
> 
> I imagine that Théodred is demisexual, meaning that he does not experience sexual attraction to another person unless or until he have formed an emotional connection with that person. That is the main struggle with his failure of finding a wife


	18. Hauntings from the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elia is haunted by ghosts from the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a fair warning, in this chapter I am using a OC to address what I see as a big problem among ASOIAF and GOT fandom about Lyanna's personality and behavior with all the events that led to Robert's Rebellion, and their honestly disdainful claims that since Elia is Dornish, she should be fine with Rhaegar taking a mistress. 
> 
> This chapter is also a little reality check about how important it actually is to know how to cook food and sewing, both in RL and fantasy

Although Elia's reaction at seeing Cearo was very much unexpected, it was clear that the sight of the sixteen-year-old young woman in her blue dress must have been a trigger of some kind. That fact that she paled very fast before fainting, told everyone that it was not anything pleasant about whatever the trigger was. But the name she had almost shouted, was perhaps a hint.  

 

“ ** _WHY ARE YOU OUT RIDING IN YOUR FINEST DRESS!?! It is meant to be worn rarely at important events only, and as your dress to wear the day you gets married!_ **” Sunniva screeched at seeing what her sister was wearing, the blue dress she had weaved from rare cotton fabric traded from Gondor, and which was not even close to being finished since it still lacked the planned embroidery on the neckline, bodice and lower shirt. By the hunting horn of Béma, was Cearo slow-witted or just plain selfish to the point of refusing to realize that every action had its consequences?!     

 

“Sunniva, is there a bed we can borrow…?” Théodred started to ask where he still held the unconscious Elia in his arms, but seeing how she was scolding Cearo for messing up in a important situation, Erkenbrand offered to show the way instead. 

  
  
  


Once indoors, Elia was gently placed on a bed, and a kind maid hurried to get a small glass bottle with smelling salts to wake her up.  

 

“Elia, are you feeling alright?”

 

No, she did not feel alright in this moment, but how would she explain her reaction when she did not know the right words for the whole situation that had ruined her marriage in Rohirric? That this unknown girl happened to be nearly a dead-ringer for the woman-girl who Rhaegar had chosen to be the mother of his longed-for Visenya, the daughter who Elia could never bear because Rhaenys and Aegon was actually born too close in age for her to heal properly before the next pregnancy and that her son's dangerous birth had made her unable to have more children?

 

“There, out with you and greet our guests properly this time!” 

 

Sunniva had, with some help of the maids, forcefully dragged Cearo into a different chamber to strip her out of the blue dress and instead dressed her in a pale orange dress that must have been dyed with onion skins. The adolescent girl had also gotten her dark hair into a pull-through braid to look more respectable for the guests, even with the sour look on her face as she dropped a curtsy which did not seem to be something she had trained much on, and now Elia could spot some differences between Cearo and Lyanna Stark: 

 

Cearo was much taller than Lyanna with not quite so slim of waist, and her female curves, both upwards and downwards, was already a size where it would be very hard to her to be able to pass off herself as a young man in trousers and tunic, even with binding her chest. Also at a close up, Cearo had blue eyes like most people in Rohan unlike the famed Stark grey eyes and her face covered in freckles, betraying that Rohan was more south than the North of Westeros. 

 

“My apologies for what I caused earlier,” Cearo forced herself to say, not sounding like she really meant the apology and Elia was once again reminded of how the Targaryen royal court treated her. Somehow, this stop at the journey across Rohan did not seem so promising. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

The following days, Elia was more quiet than normally even around her children, showing all the signs of a unpleasant memory haunting her. Also, Cearo seemed to view her as a perfect target for unpleasant comments or behavior when no one saw it happening, based on the first impression that Elia must be a weakling if she fainted like that. 

 

Still, Sunniva proved herself a good hostess and the two women found a common ground in how it was to be a mother of small children. 

 

“Look at my son and your daughter, they really get along well.”

 

Indeed Rhaenys was playing with the oldest son of the house, while Aegon was more happy to silently play with a soft knitted toy sheep not far from the older children. But the sound outside the weaving chamber, told them also that Cearo must have left her intended lessons in what a woman had to know here in Rohan no matter what her social status. 

 

“Will she...be hard to marry off if she does not learn household skills before coming of age?” Elia dared to ask carefully. Sunniva sighed deeply, pulling up her infant son to her shoulder so he could burp after just nursing at her breast. 

 

“Yes, she will not be able to find a husband without those skills, because that basically means that she would be unable to take care of herself in a situation where she is all alone. No cooking skills means starvation or risk to food poisoning yourself. Spinning, weaving and sewing does not only mean that you can do your own clothing, but you can help out in first aid if it is possible. A clean house avoids a rumor of laziness, and guests feel more welcome if they do not need to be in a house at risk of illness.” 

 

Cearo insisting on look down on those life skills and knowledge that was so natural to know among her fellow females, and instead dreaming of winning glory in battle, meant that she risked to get herself killed at a young age because she wanted to stand out in some way that would be impossible to hide from others. 

 

As the sun was warming the day, Elia brought her children with her outside. 

 

“Mama, I do not like her…that dark-haired lady,” Rhaenys whispered from where she tugged on the shirt of her mother, as Aegon currently was up in Elia's arms, using the common tongue of Westeros. 

 

“I have to agree with you, dearie. It is no wonder that lady Sunniva is so cross with her sister, when she acts like this. At least you proves yourself well-behaved to our hosts.” 

 

Rhaenys brightened up in joy over the praise. Unfortunately, an unwelcome voice was heard: 

 

“As if a **_Harad whore and her bastards_ ** have any chances of staying here in Rohan for long.”

 

Cearo stood there, dressed in trousers and tunic as if that dressing style made her superior to the other women in the household who dressed in everyday dresses. Elia now knew Harad to be a country in the distant south, and she had agreed with Théodred about that she would do best in claiming to be a widow in distress who he had saved from death, as that was close to the truth without her growing suspicions that she had somehow ended up in a completely different world, but some of the words Cearo just used was unknown for her. 

 

“I beg your pardon, but are you acting like this because you currently are _riding the crimson wave_ and you know that your sister will only strike back verbally if you uses that tone against her?” 

 

As a woman herself, Elia knew how annoying that monthly visitor could be for any fertile woman old enough to suffer through it, but she had never allowed that female body detail to be a reason for rudeness. 

 

Apparently Cearo had not expected her to respond in quite clear Rohirric despite her foreign dialect, or did not know the euphemism Elia had used. Anyway, the Rohirrim girl grew dark in her face out of anger, mistaking it as that Elia had insulted her. 

 

“ ** _DAMNED HARADRIM SLUT!!_ **” 

 

And then hell broke loose. 

  
  


It was the shrill screams and crying from the children outside that alarmed Théodred in the middle of being shown the the most important events laterly on the map of this region of Rohan. 

 

“Elia!!” he gasped when he heard Rhaenys crying for her mother, dropping what he had in his hands and  rushed out though the doors with Erkenbrand quickly behind. 

 

Elia had been forced to drop Aegon on the ground in order to avoid that he was hit by Cearo's closed fist towards her own face. Of course, the toddler was not happy at all over it and wailed loudly as poor Rhaenys was indecisive about the whole situation; comforting her little brother, try to help her mother against Cearo or running off to get help. 

 

“Elia!” 

 

“She attacked mama! She said...she said something strange and then she turned all angry and tried to hit mama...” Rhaenys cried as Théodred came running to see the scene. He gave her a quick pat on the head to show that he was not angry on her, Aegon being handed by one of his guards who was a familiar face for the small boy. 

 

Unfortunately, everyone who had gathered in the front yard, could hear what Cearo currently snarled at Elia: 

 

“Do you think that by **_sharing the prince's bed_ ** and using whatever things you uses in bed to ensnare him, you are free to live here as if you were one of us despite being a foreigner! That your bastards by him will be viewed as legal heirs to the House of Eorl?” 

 

Again, Elia could have sworn that it was Lyanna Stark, and not Cearo, in front of her in this moment. She did not understand all the words, but the tone, the manner of speaking, she recalled all too well. About that she, being from Dorne, was unworthy as the future Queen consort of Westeros and that she should not make a such fuss about Rhaegar running away with Lyanna to become his paramour. The undying claims of both men and women from Dorne sexual licentiousness

 

“ **STOP HAUNTING MY LIFE, YOU CURSED WOLF-GIRL!! AS IF YOU WERE FREE TO RUN OFF FROM YOUR PLANNED MARRIAGE TO BE WITH MY HUSBAND, LYANNA STARK!!** ” 

 

While Elia's health had never allowed any weapon training, she knew how to use a dagger for self-defense at least. Grabbing hold of Cearo's arm and pulling her closer before holding the dagger upwards like she had been taught, she then slammed the pommel down into Cearo's forehead. It was not strong enough to make the girl unconscious, but it gave Elia enough time to back a few steps so there was more distance between them. 

 

Théodred took the chance to act, and hastily gave Cearo a first-hand lesson about that he were not afraid of striking a woman if needed. Tossing the surprised girl over one shoulder, the Prince of Rohan kept her face-down in the dust with one knee on her back and one arm forced behind her back to ensure that she remained still or she would have her shoulder dislocated. 

 

“Let me go! Why did you bring that southern woman and her brats here!? They do not belong here in Rohan!” 

 

Elia twitched visibly at the words, as Sunniva was checking her over for possible injuries. 

 

“I am seeing why Sunniva and Erkenbrand have such trouble to make you understand the consequences of your words and actions, young lady. Whatever you think, Elia is **_NOT_ **that kind of woman as you claim her to be, nor are her children sired by me! Do you honestly think that a such relationship is what prevents me from a legal marriage, or what?!” 

 

Having lovers before marriage was not common in Rohan, given their culture of honestly. Perhaps to gain some experiences before the wedding night, but to openly cheat on a spouse? No, that was punishable by law. 

 

“Sunniva, Erkenbrand. Do you not agree that if Cearo is failing so badly to understand why neglecting necessary life skills, is basically doing to end up with her being unmarried for life?” 

 

Using his authority as the Prince of Rohan, Théodred ordered that Cearo was to be locked up in one of the sheds overnight with no food or water until the coming morning. The next part of her punishment for attacking Elia would be agreed with Sunniva and Erkenbrand, as they were their guardians since the death of the sisters' elderly father two years ago. 

 

Her selfish behavior had gone too far this time.

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

No one was surprised by Elia requesting some time to be alone. The attacks from Cearo, both physical and verbal, had to hurt deeply, and her body language spoke of that this might not be the first time she had suffered it. In Edoras there had been no problem as people had seen Théodred arrive with the small family the previous summer and knew that Elia most likely risked death if she left the protection Rohan offered. 

 

But Cearo had reminded her of that there would always be people who viewed her in a different light, and in a far more unpleasant way. 

 

“Elia? Did Cearo...remind you of someone who was...not kind to you?” 

 

He joined her on the wooden bench after being given permission to do so. As Théodred had no idea of her past or what had happened to ruin her marriage, Elia did not feel offended by that he tried to say the question in a neutral manner. It simply showed that he did his best to not make things worse. 

 

“ ** _Lyanna Stark is a girl in Cearo's age who my idiotic husband chose for the task to give him the children I could not give him after Aegon._ **”

 

The words was harsh, bitter as she spoke, fighting against the memories. Some form of rough understanding dawned for Théodred, since Mereliss had been his wet nurse since birth and not been afraid of giving him unexpected information about women and how their bodies worked back when he was a adolescent. The midwife had especially mentioned a few details about pregnancy too soon after a childbirth could affect the health of the mother badly. 

 

“You were not _given enough time_ between Rhaenys and Aegon to heal as you needed, right?” 

 

Rhaenys was fifteen months older than her brother. And with a pregnancy lasting nine months unless Aegon had been born a little early, that could only mean one horrible thing: 

 

That Elia's husband was the type of man who saw his wife as a broodmare in order to have as many children as possible to the cost of her own health, forcing her to carry children as often as she managed to conceive. In fact, a such marriage had been annulled only weeks before he had saved the small family, when a husband had been found out to mistreat his wife in exactly that manner and found himself spending the rest of his life as a convict in a chain-gang, working maintain waterways and other similar dangerous works.

 

“You would be entitled to annul the marriage for that here in Rohan, for our laws makes it clear that no wife, no matter her social status, should have to ruin her body by courtless pregnancies to the cost of her health.”  

 

 

The next morning, it was found that Cearo had somehow managed to break out from the shed during the night, stealing food from the kitchen and riding off with her own horse. 

 

“That foolish girl! Does she think that she can escape her punishment for what happened yesterday by becoming a warrior?!” Sunniva lamented, feeling that her sister had gotten into really deep trouble this time. Everything suggested that Cearo had left with only the clothes on her back and a sword, nothing else that could offer protection if she ran into orcs. 

 

“We will find her, I promise, and she will spend the two remaining years to her coming of age in a punishment that temporarily degrades her to a commoner and forces her to learn those feminine skills for her own survival,” Erkenbrand promised his despairing wife, hiding his own anger over how his young sister-in-law acted as if she could do things without punishment to correct her behavior. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Two weeks later, Cearo had once again found out that running away had, in truth, been a horrible idea. 

 

“Just how hard is it to remove blood stains from clothes, really?!” 

 

She had not eaten for two days now, the stolen food having run out three days now. She had been forced to face her own failure in cooking when she had no idea how to identify any edible herbs, and her attempts of building up a campfire had not gone well either. 

 

Two weeks in the same clothes had left her smelly and dirty, her tunic having a few tears that she had no way of mending without needle and thread. This morning, she had also woken up to find herself with nothing to stop the blood from her monthly visitor to leave strains on her trousers, and by having no second set of clothes with her, this forced Cearo to walk half-naked into the stream and try to wash away the blood. 

 

“Cold!” she screamed at feeling the temperature with her bare feet, but she had no choice but to walk further out deeper. The clothes had to be washed and dried before she could ride further away, with no actual direction in mind, her goal being to get as far away as she could from her sister and the royal guests. 

 

“Why did the prince defend that whore? As if she had anything to charm him with, skinny as a stick and ugly as well!” 

 

Cearo was so focused on trying to wash her clothes clean, that she failed to notice the orc too late. If only she could grab her sword… 

 

“Die, you foul crea….?!” 

 

The orc was faster than what Cearo had thought. With a arrow in her throat before she could even finish her supposed war cry, she found her life ended at the young age of sixteen, a victim of her own actions and thoughtlessness, dying far away with home, with no one around, instead of winning glory in battle as she had dreamed about from a young age. 

 

It was not for nothing that Elia had thought Cearo alike Lyanna Stark in appearance and behavior.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “by the hunting horn of Béma” is my idea of what might be a expression in Rohan, used to express various feelings akin to “Jesus Christ” in RL 
> 
> Given the culture of Rohan that is seen in the books and movies, I think their most common fabrics are made from wool and linen. Finer fabrics such as cotton, is likely imported or traded from Gondor, and only available to the nobility and the royal family. 
> 
> Also, think of how time consuming is to make clothes without modern machines: first you need to gather the fibers and spin them into thread by the use of a distaff unless you have a spinning wheel, then you needs to weave all the thread into fabric on a loom, once that is done you need to cut out the pieces and sew them together. Historically, textiles was very valuable just because of all the time and labor it took to make them 
> 
> As for Sunniva also mentioning the blue dress to be Cearo's planned wedding dress, the trend with a white wedding dress started with Queen Victoria on her wedding in 1840, in the RL Middle Ages brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk. Brides dressed in the height of current fashion, with the richest materials their families' money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. Basically, you wore the finest dress you owned on the day you was a bride.


	19. Legend of the unknown Sailor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oberyn and Doran get a sign of Elia being alive, and their father finds a possible link to a ancient legend

It was now roughly nine months since Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon had vanished from the Red Keep. The mysterious disappearance of the wife and children of the late Rhaegar Targaryen was a mystery,which many pondered over. 

 

Among them was, naturally, the Martell family in Sunspear. Doran and Oberyn used everything in their power to try and get news about their missing sister alongside her two children, in the hope of at least know what had happened beyond that they seemed to have been saved by a mysterious hedge knight before Tywin Lannister's men could kill the small family.

 

“Bloody Tywin Lannister and his goal of making his descendants a part of the royal family!”

 

At the moment, Oberyn was trying to clear his head by some light sparring against the city guards, and for a good reason. His father Ihsan had not taken the news of Elia vanishing well, the former Prince consort of Dorne had a special bond to his only daughter as neither one was in the best of health and understandably been horrified by how she had been treated by the Targaryen prince. 

 

“Father is like a shadow of himself ever since our mother Aria died, and the news of the Sack did not do any wonders for his health…” 

 

Oberyn prayed for that there would be a sign from Elia about that she, Rhaenys and Aegon was alive, so his father would gain some joy back in his life. He loved all his grandchildren, of course, but the two children from Elia had never met their maternal grandfather and as things was right now, it was impossible to say if Ihsan would get a chance to see them. 

 

“ _ Girls!  _ Do not chase your poor grandfather like that, you know that his lungs are not the best!” Oberyn cried out at hearing the voices of his daughters, followed by a very familiar wheezing and other sounds caused by shortness of breath that he had heard from his father ever since his birth whatever Ihsan strained himself. 

  
  


After sending the young Sand Snakes to help the servants clean the whole palace as punishment, Oberyn helped Ihsan back to his own chambers so he could rest. 

 

“Sorry about the girls, father, I should have kept them under control better.” 

 

Taking a such deep breath as he managed, Ihsan could now breathe a little more normally, though he was slightly out of breath by the stairs up to the chambers for his afternoon rest. Somehow, despite the suggestions of his sons, Ihsan refused to move out from his private sleeping chamber that he had used ever since his wedding to the late Aria Martell, saying that he would only move out when he was too old to climb the stairs everyday. 

 

“They knows that I am sad about Elia and their little cousins, and tries to cheer me up in the way they know best. Do not be too harsh on them, Oberyn.” 

 

Oberyn nodded, but he stayed with his father until that Ihsan had fallen asleep on the soft bed and the cooling winds from the sea though the open window to avoid overheating from the sun. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Doran was busy as always in his duties as Prince of Dorne, trying to finish as much as possible before lunch. His wife Mellario had already planned where to seek protection from the incoming afternoon heat, and their children would most likely be found with their cousins. 

 

“ _ Oh, joy. _ What a joy indeed, to read that Cersei Lannister is already pregnant with a heir to the Baratheon dynasty. The Old Lion must be really proud of his daughter getting married to a Storm King instead of the Dragon Prince.”

 

That letter was tossed into a small jar meant to paper scraps that could be used to light candles with. It felt as a mockery, a painful reminder of that his own nephew Aegon would perhaps never sit on the Iron Throne as the real King of Westeros. On the other hand, given what her marriage to the Targaryen prince had resulted in, Doran could really imagine that Elia would not want her son to become King.

 

“Perhaps it would be better if Rhaenys and Aegon never claimed the throne and instead lives as such normal life as they can? That would make less worries for Elia about their lives, for sure…” 

 

Suddenly, his hand touched a new letter at the very end of the pile of letters he had to read and response to before lunch. It was a rougher parchment, not quite as elegant as he was used to. There was not wax seal, but the hand-drawn coat of arms made in ink was that of House Martell. And the words of their House: 

 

_ Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken _

 

And in tiny letters, as if to confirm who the sender was: 

 

_ Elia Nymeros Martell, Rhaenys Myriah Targaryen, Aegon Maron Targaryen _

 

His hands shaking from mixed emotions, hoping for good news and also fearing the worst, Doran opened the letter to read. What he found, was enough to make him run out from his office. 

 

“ **_Father! Oberyn! Elia have sent a letter! We have a letter from Elia! She and her children are alive! THEY ARE ALIVE, ALL THREE OF THEM!!_ ** ” 

 

Finally some good news, indeed. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Once the news had been shared with the whole family, Ihsan actually crying in relief over that he could finally know that his only daughter and her two children were still alive, and the first excitement had passed, Oberyn and Doran could look closer on what Elia had written. 

 

“Rohan? That is a name I have never heard about…she writes that it is a kingdom, but based on what she mentions, it can not be a newly founded kingdom either...” Doran muttered as he brought out a map over the known world. The rough map of the south of Middle-earth, which Elia had managed to copy rather well and carefully marked where Rohan was, did not help since it did not match any place in Essos. 

 

Ihsan had remained silent for now, but when he saw the map Elia had drawn, he seemed to recall something. 

 

“Give me a few moments, boys, I need to bring something from the library.” 

  
  


They did not need to wait for more than half a hour at most, before Ihsan returned back to the chamber, a maid servant helping him to carry a large and very old book.

 

“Middle-earth...Middle-earth…and the name Isildur from that other Kingdom she mentions...here!”

 

Ihsan flipped up the right page. It was about a legend hailing from the times roughly at the start of the Valyrian Freehold. 

 

“A long time ago, a lone ship arrived from the East. An old man, and three servants. They spoke a unknown language, and did not live long in this world, for they were ill after spending many months on the sea. The few words the old man would mention often, was just Middle-earth, the place where he likely had intended to sail to, and the names of his family. His son, Elendil, and two grandsons, Isildur and Anárion. In the fever that would take his life, he said something about a Great Shadow, a punishment from the Gods...and pleading for the lives of his family to the very last breath. His last word was something sounding like  _ Elros Tar-Minyatur. _ ” 

 

Based on how long time that had passed since this mysterious sailor had shown up, the legend was at least four thousand years old. But in the old book, there was at least a mention of his name, otherwise forgotten with time: 

 

_ Amandil, Lord of Andúnië _

 

And there was another map, copied from the map the sailor had brought with him. If they were comparing the two maps, it was obvious that Rohan probably hadn't existed that long ago, since the Valyrian Freehold had existed for five thousand years. It had to be a Kingdom founded much later. 

 

“Look, that area...that is where Rohan must be on the more current map!”

 

Grabbing a quill each alongside some parchment, the two sons and their father began to write a letter each to Elia, in the hope of that one of those three letters might reach her. At least they now knew that she was in good hands, and that her new protectors wished to help her return home to Dorne. 

 

“Perhaps this Amandil ended up in the known world here, far away from his own home, as a sign of that his Gods had some plan for the distant future?” 

 

They could not know the answer, of course, but if it was a sign of something positive, it was a welcomed one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In canon the parents of the Martell siblings are unnamed, but I chose the name Ihsan for their father and Aria for their mother, the former ruling Princess of Dorne, for a one-shot about Elia's relationship with her family. Ihsan is intended to hail from House Jordayne as a third son, and he suffers from a mild form of asthma, which is the reason behind his less than good health 
> 
> Ihsan is a Arabic name meaning Beneficence, kindness
> 
> The mentioned unborn Baratheon heir is not Joffrey, as there is a mention of Cersei giving birth to a legal son of Robert who died as a infant. Since Mandos and the Stranger made a deal about Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon surviving in exchange of Joffrey being stillborn, this future Baratheon heir will be the Crown prince instead for this AU along with Cersei not manage to abort more of Robert's trueborn children for various reasons she can not control, so Myrcella and Tommen will have several half-siblings with the real Baratheon appearance
> 
> My headcanon is that Elia secretly gave her children an extra name to highlight their Dornish lineage, after the two Martell siblings, Myriah who married Daeron II and and Maron who married Daenerys Targaryen, the 19 years older sister to Daeron 
> 
> Amandil was the leader of the Faithful in Númenor, and came to be the eighteenth and last Lord of Andúnie. His life as Lord of Andúnie and as one of the Faithful sired the High Kings of Gondor and Arnor who preserved their ways through the Dúnedain of Middle-earth on up to Aragorn II Elessar. Elendil the Tall was his son.
> 
> Amandil did not trust Sauron when the latter was brought as a prisoner to Númenor, and sensing the impending doom of Númenor, he urged his son Elendil not to interfere in the upcoming war, but to expect, and prepare for, a forced departure from the island. He himself decided to set sail for Valinor, there to plead with the Valar for forgiveness and mercy for the Númenórean people, since at least a few had remained faithful. He departed into the West either SA 3310 or SA 3316, just before the Great Armament was ready to launch in an attempt to reach Valinor and save Númenor. He set sail in a small ship with three servants dear to him (though no names are given for them) at night from Rómenna steering East, like it was his goal to reach Middle-earth, but soon he turned and journeyed into the West. He never returned, and was never heard from again.


	20. Wanted and unwanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elia gets to see Helm's Deep, while in Edoras a different person arrives

The guests had spent two days helping Erkenbrand and Sunniva to search for Cearo, before they had to move on to the next stop of their journey. Théodred could not stay for long at one place during this journey around Rohan unless there was a legal reason such as him suffering an injury or a illness that would make him unable to ride.                 

 

“When she is found, bring her at once to the closest camp where we put criminals that will do manual labor as part of their sentence. She will spend the remaining two years until her coming-of-age there, with the reality of being stripped of her status as a noble, and find out the hard way that everyone in our sociality must know basic skills for survival,” Théodred ordered to Erkenbrand, who nodded in agreement.   

 

“Yes, there is no way she will escape punishment for attacking a lady who is under your protection, my prince. She is old enough to understand that, and can not pretend to be one of those unfortunate persons who are half-wits because everyone in this household and that of her dead father can testify that she is normal.” 

 

His young sister-in-law had this final chance to redeem herself, and become a respectable young lady to be a wife later. While understandable that Cearo did not desire to be merely a wife and mother in adulthood, the truth was that she had a duty to bear one child if she wanted what she viewed as freedom. This was simply how things was, if all young women went away in battle to be shield-maidens there would not be any promises of that many of their numbers would return alive. And Rohan needed its population to grow steady, the one who died replaced by the younger generations. 

 

How could they have known, that Cearo would find her death 12 days later at the hands of a orc, dying alone and with nothing of the success she had dreamed about to add to her name?    

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Helm's Deep was the shared name of both a valley and its major defensive structure built from stone, named the Hornborg because a horn sounded from its tower could be heard in the whole Deep. It was perhaps simple in the eyes of Westeros, but Elia did not doubt Théodred when he told her that it was the strongest point of Rohan.    

 

“King Brego thought it wiser to have the capital of Rohan closer to Dunharrow, a refuge in the White Mountains, in case of attack. He felt that Aldburg, the first capital, was too far away from good protection.”   

 

“It is a good defense,” Elia said, feeling herself stuck with awe over it. Based on what she could guess, Helm's Deep had not originally been built by the Rohirrim, given that their buildings was made from wood, but of a different culture. That realization made her curious. 

 

The group was welcomed by Gamling, who was Erkenbrand's lieutenant, and the leader of the watchers of Helm's Dike. 

 

“My prince, it is a honor to be your host during the days you and your companies will be here.” 

 

Though somehow, Théodred was not surprised at all when Gamling leaned slightly towards him and whispered in a low voice: 

 

“Given that the boy look a little like you, my prince, be ready on some gossip about whatever he might be yours.”

 

The prince made a face at those words, and Gamling understood the request to speak no more of it. 

 

“If I ever had sired a child before marriage, I would take responsibility by at least ensuring that the mother is not ostracized and taken care of, for sharing a bed with me at some point and she chose to keep the child instead of aborting at some point during the first two months of pregnancy with the help of the local midwife.” 

 

For all of that Mareliss could sometimes give him a little bit too much unwanted information about pregnancy and childbirth, thanks to her being his wet-nurse, Théodred had at least learned from early adolescence that there could be  _ consequences  _ of sharing a bed with a girl. Besides, illegitimate children was actually pretty rare in the House of Eorl, mainly because the Kings of Rohan wanted to avoid a succession crisis in the shape of children born from a love-relationship before a legal marriage that could threaten the legal heirs born from a wife. 

 

On the other hand, Gamling hoped that Théodred being around Elia and her children could hopefully renew the hope of that the prince would eventually find a bride, for the two children showed how Théodred actually was surprisingly patient around them despite their young age. 

  
  


Rhaenys and Aegon was also in awe over the Hornburg, as they explored the keep after getting to rest a little bit.

 

“Rhae! Rhae!” 

 

Aegon tried to follow after his sister, when he suddenly stopped in front of the doors to the chamber with wooden tables where they had eaten a light welcome meal with the adults earlier. The sun light were very bright here, and for some reason Aegon thought that he heard the voice of King Théoden despite that the King of Rohan was all way back in Edoras: 

 

_ Where is the horse and the rider? _

_ Where is the horn that was blowing? _

_ They have passed like rain on the mountains, _

_ like wind in the meadow. _

_ The days have gone down in the West, _

_ behind the hills... into Shadow. _

 

For a moment, Aegon did really see the King there in the chamber, standing with his back towards the door as someone dressed him into armour. But as the boy blinked for a moment, the two adults was no longer there. 

 

“Aegon?” Rhaenys called, confused over why he had stopped following her. Since their mother had asked her to not stray away from her brother, Rhaenys knew that she must keep a eye on him. And this keep was a unfamiliar place, one where they could easily get lost in. 

 

“Wait, sis!” 

 

Aegon himself had no idea about it due to his young age, and Elia could impossibly know it either because of how young her son was, but he was one of the Targaryens that normally would be haunted by dragon dreams, which here in Middle-earth, due to Arda being a different world altogether, changed into that he had some degree of second sight.   

 

What Aegon just had seen without understanding its deeper meaning right now, was that in thirteen years a big battle in the War of the Ring would be happening here in Helm's Deep, in the year 3019 of the Third Age. 

 

Rhaenys did not have those powers, but the rhyme Mereliss had spoken the morning on her birthday was true about her season of birth as well: A gentle heart that could be a strength in itself if a person knew how to be in guard for people with ill intentions. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

In Edoras, the rest of the royal family was busy in their own way. Since it was a fine spring day with some warmth from the sun, they had taken the chance to be outside and enjoy the fine weather. 

 

“Bad news, uncle?” Éowyn asked the King at his side as Théoden was reading a letter from his son, while Éomer once again was trying to keep Balaerion off his head. The now nearly fully grown black cat clearly liked the various members of the House of Eorl, although his methods of showing affection could be somewhat questionable. 

 

“In a way, guess. It seems like the younger sister to Sunniva, Erkenbrand's wife, tried to attack lady Elia on the belief of that she...was not the noble lady she seems to be.” 

 

Both the siblings looked shocked.

 

“What!? But Théodred made sure to write and send a letter ahead to ensure that there would be no misunderstandings about her and her children!” Éowyn protested, recalling how her cousin had not be so happy over the jokes about that people who saw Rhaenys and Aegon for the first time could indeed mistake them as his offspring based on age. 

 

“You mean Cearo, right? She was with them here as visitors this past Midsummer feast, she thought herself the better rider simply because she managed to beat me and a few of my friends in a race. And then she made fun of Éowyn when she tripped over a uneven piece of grass and dropped that cup of cold water that my sister had planned to give me to drink.”

 

No, Cearo had not made any good first impression on the King's nephew and niece. If anything, the older adolescent girl had acted self-important, not caring if she did hurt the feelings of others as long as she was in the right. And the siblings had agreed on that she would never manage to catch their cousin as a husband, they knew that Théodred was more likely to refuse marriage altogether if his possible bride behaved anything like Cearo. 

 

“Please tell me what this foolish girl have done to displeasure you so,” Laywyn requested, having taken a small break in her ridning so her mare could rest for a little bit, and now came to join her family where they had gathered. 

 

Once the full tale had been told, both of what had happened at the past midsummer and what Cearo had tried to do against Elia, Laywyn did agree that it was not a acceptable behavior for anyone, no matter their age or gender. 

 

“If a new Queen of Rohan thought it more important to be remembered as a battle-loving shield-maiden than bearing children for the King, she is fated to not be recalled fondly in later generations. I fully understand that no all women wants marriage or children as legacy, being a such woman myself, but even a Queen that sadly is fated to be barren no matter how much help she can get from healers and midwives to try becoming pregnant, can still leave a good legacy behind in the form of being a good counselor to her husband and protector of her people in times of crisis.”

 

That was the legacy of many sisters and brothers to former Kings of Rohan, helping in the government even if they were not present in Edoras and linking all the parts of Rohan together. 

  
  


After a while, Laywyn rode out again since Éomer and Éowyn had to return to their school lessons, and Théoden also had his duties as King to deal with. 

 

“I will be back soon, Brothor!” 

 

Yet she was not far from the capital and stopped her mare, when she heard the sounds of a new rider arriving. It did not take long for the other rider to show up among the sea of green grass that was one of Rohan's hallmarks. The old man, proving his age by having a long beard of grey faded into white, was dressed in a tall pointed hat, a grey cloak and had a long wooden staff in his packing behind the saddle. 

 

“Are you sure that you are not a disguised elf, since you never seems to pass over to the afterlife?” Laywyn asked bluntly, her arms crossed as if she was disappointed for some reason. 

 

“Taking after your lady mother Morwen in seriousness as always, lady Laywyn. Yet it is the same kind of grace as well. Alas, I have no plans to leave the living world yet, I am afraid,” Gandalf the Grey responded, not upset at all over how the daughter of Kings had addressed him. 

 

And in a way, she had a point; he had last been in Rohan nearly four years ago, when her younger sister Théodwyn had died from the illness that had struck her in the grief over becoming a widow. 

 

“You better not be planning anything that proves your name of  _ Stormcrow  _ again, as my brother so kindly named you last time you was here in the Mark.” 

 

“More like I had hoped for something more joyful, for once.” 

 

Biting the inside of her cheek to not say anything, Laywyn simply nodded and led the way back to Edoras, Gandalf following her. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not know if Tolkien have any words for mentally handicapped persons in his works, but I will try and not show any disrespect in the writing. I also do not think people in Rohan would find it funny if someone tried to play dumb for the sake of escaping punishment 
> 
> In canon it is not really made clear if Gamling serves under Erkenbrand, but since someone has to be commander in Helm's Deep even during peacetime, I thought he could have that role 
> 
> Aldburg was one of the oldest towns in Rohan and the first capital of the realm, was built by Eorl the Young in the region known as the Folde, east of Edoras. After Brego, son of Eorl, completed the Golden Hall and the Kings removed to Edoras, the lordship of Aldburg passed to his third son, Eofor, from whom Éomund, father of Éomer, claimed descent.
> 
> Dunharrow was a refuge of the Rohirrim hidden in the White Mountains south of Edoras and fortified against attack. Dunharrow was a clifftop overlooking Harrowdale, the valley of the river Snowbourn.
> 
> Stormcrow was a name given to Gandalf by King Théoden in Rohan, a reference to his arrival being associated with times of trouble. If Théoden lost his brother-in-law and youngest sister roughly around the time as Gandalf did show up in Rohan without warning, that could be a reason to why his arrival became associated with times of trouble.

**Author's Note:**

> The dress I imagine Elia to be wearing in this story: 
> 
> http://fashionhugs.com/images/pictuers/a_model_in_orange_dress_for_party.jpg?fbclid=IwAR1CiX5_fWdK8PWW3V9eMQylGTFV0rnxVAYWK7CAKPEoX7I9YRAK_RO8nV8
> 
> Inspiration for the dress Rhaenys is wearing:
> 
> https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1MKuHSpXXXXbnapXXq6xXFXXXn/Fashion-Girls-Designer-Kids-Brand-Teenager-Party-Wear-Frocks-Full-Lace-Belted-Girl-Prom-Dresses-Kids.jpg_640x640.jpg
> 
> Because Aegon is still a very young, imagine that he is wearing a plain white tunic of cotton down to his ankles instead of anything modern-day clothing a toddler at the age of 15 months may wear


End file.
